Following weeks of second-hand sightings and fleeting social media posts showing video and stills of the recent Dunedin transport phenomenon in and around Balclutha, an Otago Daily Times reporter rushed to the scene of the crime after a tip-off yesterday.
About 1pm, Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan, who last week spoke out in condemnation of the scooters getting to the district illegally, alerted the ODT to the presence of a pair of scooters near the town's cenotaph, on Renfrew St.
Launched in Dunedin on January 10, the scooters are not licensed for use outside a designated "service area'' in the city and its suburbs.
Balclutha, nearly 80km from Dunedin, is under Clutha District Council oversight.
There was no arrangement with the council for licensing the scooters locally, Mr Cadogan said.
"I think the concept's a beauty. But what was a novelty [in Clutha] is now wearing a bit thin as a joke. People should pull their heads in.''
Mr Cadogan was not "averse'' to scooters coming legally, saying, "it would be a shame if stupidity put [Lime] off''.
A spokesman for Lime said:
"Balclutha is outside the Dunedin service area and it is not permitted to take Limes there. We are working with local police, investigating this on a case-by-case basis, and people who do this will be fined.''
