Lime's debut in Tauranga results in missing scooter, 16km trek and incident

Lime scooters have been popular in their first week in Tauranga. Photo / Samantha Motion

The first week of a year-long trial of Lime e-scooters in Tauranga has resulted in an accident, an incident and an epic 16km ride from the city's CBD to Pāpāmoa.

Lime e-scooters officially launched in Tauranga on October 29 with 400 of the distinctive green-and-white machines scattered throughout the city.

The internationally-known brand received Tauranga City Council permission earlier this year to trial e-scooter use in the city for a year.

As of Thursday this week, more than 8500 trips on the e-scooters had been taken by more than 2200 riders.

Lime spokeswoman Lauren Mentjox said the most popular trips were concentrated in and around Pāpāmoa, Mount Maunganui and Tauranga's CBD.

The furthest trip so far was a 16km journey from the city centre, to Mount Maunganui and ending in Pāpāmoa.

"Overall, we are really pleased with how residents in Tauranga, the Mount and Pāpāmoa have responded to having scooters available as a safe, fun and convenient mode of transport," she said.

"We are seeing trips right across the service zone with many travelling from Tauranga to Mount Maunganui and commuter patterns emerging with large numbers of trips taking place from the south of the CBD to and from Greerton."

However, Mentjox said there was also a scooter "unaccounted for" and half a dozen vandalised scooters in this first week.

There was also an accident and another incident reported to Lime.

The incident involved the report of two people riding the one scooter at Mount Maunganui on the first day, which was a breach of Lime's rules.

Mentjox would not provide more details on the accident.

While the e-scooters have proven popular, not everyone is happy about them.

Stewart, who would only be known by his first name, said he had a near-miss earlier this week on Fraser St with a group of schoolboys riding the e-scooters.

Stewart said he was shaken but not injured.

"They are riding them on the footpath, where pedestrians are walking up and down, in a ridiculous and dangerous manner."

Stewart said he believed e-scooters should be ridden on the road - if they had to be ridden at all.

"A vehicle should not be on the footpath. It's a bad show. Something has to be done about it. You get hit by one of them, you will know about it."

According to Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency rules, e-scooters can be ridden on the footpath or the road, as close to the edge of the roadway as possible.

Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell said his message to e-scooter riders was to share with care and be kind and considerate, particularly on footpaths.

"Pedestrians will most likely be walking more slowly than scooter riders and scooters need to give way to pedestrians. Riders on e-scooters do not have right of way over other footpath users, including seniors on mobility scooters."

Tauranga City Council has been approached for comment.