Lime juicers' income dries up with e-scooters off the streets

Hundreds of dollars have been lost by those who collect Lime e-scooters from city streets, as a result of the temporary safety recall.

MORE: 'Like Pokemon with cash' - life as a Lime e-scooter juicer

Each night, independent contractors called juicers rush around the city with trailers and vehicles to collect the scooters for a fee and recharge them before they are put back into service the next day.

Juicers are paid for each scooter they collect, usually $5-$7.

The scooters have been off the streets in Auckland and Dunedin, although Auckland Council has rescinded its ban on the electric vehicles if Lime meets certain criteria.

The scooters were due back on Auckland's streets on Saturday but their return was delayed as Lime conducted safety checks.

Harvesting, as Lime calls it, the scooters can be highly competitive as juicers vie to collect the scooters.

Dunedin Nick Borich uses his ute to collect up to 20 scooters a night, making on average about $140.

He estimated he had missed out nearly $1000 during the voluntary recall

"From a juicing perspective, this disruption has been really inconvenient."

As soon as the scooters were back on the streets, he would be back out collecting them.

"Ready and waiting, I'd say every juicer will be, too. It'll be hectic."

Borich was also looking forward to using the scooters again.

"There have been so many opportunities this last week where I would've ridden a Lime and instead have had to drive."

Lime scooters were due back on the streets on Saturday in Auckland but were delayed while the company triple-checked the vehicles. Photo / Jason Oxenham

But the recall has not been bad for all of the city's juicers.

Max North said it had given him a chance to relax and socialise at the weekend, which he would not have done if the scooters were still on the street.

He usually takes two nights off a week, usually on a weeknight when there were fewer scooters to collect.

"We had a chance to go to a friend's party on Saturday, something that we might otherwise not do because Saturday is usually a lucrative night in the Lime fields."

The break also gave him time to run some maintenance on the car and trailer he used.

North used juicing as a "side-earner" and usually made between $400 and $500 a week.

Saturday nights were usually the most profitable but there were other nights where he just broke even, he said.

"It's fun as an extra side-earner but everyone keeps in mind it can, and temporarily did, evaporate overnight."

In a statement last week, Lime executive Mitchell Price thanked the company's community of juicers for their patience during the recall.

An update on the redeployment of the e-scooters would be made today, Price said