Self-driving e-scooter service Ario launching in West Auckland this Wednesday. Video / Ario
An e-scooter rideshare firm with a diffence is soft-launching in West Auckland this Wednesday.
Ario features three-wheeled scooters - the better to provide stability for a self-driving feature.
If one of its scooters is left in the middle of the footpath, or any other off-limits space, an Ario operator can remote-control it back to an approved parking area (see clip below).
Ario also touts its three-wheelers as more stable - which it says equates to a safer ride, with fewer dings meaning its scooters last longer for sustainability benefits.
Auckland Council says it’s granted Ario a “Tier 3″ licence e-scooter rideshare licence, meaning it can only operate in outer suburbs, but it has chosen New Lynn and immediate surrounds (see map below) for its initial operations.
Ario's inital launch area. Image / Auckland Council
The firm has been granted a council licence for 150 scooters, which will cost $1 to unlock then 49 cents per minute - in line with incumbents Beam and Lime.
Singapore-owned Beam and Lime (which counts Uber as its largest investor) can each operate 450, or a total of 900 in the city centre, and 1200 e-scooters each, or a total 2400, citywide (down from the pre-Covid regulated limited of 3200).
Like the incumbents, Ario is subject to a 25km/h speed limit and a 15km/h, GPS-enforced limit in crowded areas.
Ario, Beam and Lime’s licences expire in November- meaning the newcomer has four months to prove its chops. Auckland Council is fielding applications for renewals this month.
The newcomer’s Tier 3 or outer suburbs licence is a first for the city, where rideshare e-scooters and e-bikes are heavily clustered around the CBD’s commuter hubs.
Ario is owned by Singapore’s 3KM Technology, which already has operations in Australia - where its general manager is a familiar name in the micro-mobility scene: Adam Rossetto, formerly head of business development for Beam Australia and NZ.
Other recent rideshare developments have seen Beam launch a partnership with local carshare firm Mevo, with discounts and freebies on each other’s services for their respective members, and Kiwi-owned e-scooter share firm Flamingo launch in Dunedin.
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
