Lime scooter suspension continues as board awaits more information

Auckland City Council is waiting for the latest pieces of a review of the safety, management and processes of the Lime electric scooter operator before deciding whether to lift its suspension.

The board suspended Lime's license on Friday after a safety issue causing the scooter's brake lock was identified, injuring 30 people in Auckland. He warned the operator to solve the problem if he wanted the scooters to be allowed to return to the city's trails.

The review by Exponent, an international consulting firm, was presented to council leaders on Tuesday afternoon.

Dean Kimpton, chief operating officer of the Auckland Council, said more information was still available and promised before the close of business Wednesday.

"Lime's independent reviewer, Exponent, has indicated that his review is ongoing and that he will provide additional information to those already provided, by Wednesday at the end of the day."

Both Auckland City Council and Dunedin City Council suspended Lime's license on Friday because of growing safety concerns, following several incidents in which the front wheels of the electric scooters occurred. blocked unexpectedly.

The decision whether to lift the suspension will not be made until the board has reviewed all the information, Kimpton said.

Lime pays for the examination of the exhibitor as part of his contract. The report was originally due to be delivered to the Auckland Council by Monday.

The role of the exhibitor is to analyze the firmware patch applied to the scooters to solve the unexpected locking problem.

He also had full access to Lime operations and data to review his management and security processes.

Should the suspension be lifted, Lime would be required to provide a frequency of incidents during the trial period and provide a complete update of progress against the license extension conditions.

The board and TA would also receive details of all incidents on a 48-hour frequency and meet with board staff on a weekly basis to discuss the incident file, analysis, and response. from Lime.

Last week, Lime told the council that 155 irregular braking incidents were likely caused by the unexpected lockdown problem – including 92 in Auckland and 30 of which were injured.

Scooters should be removed from the streets of Auckland by Saturday.

Since the scooters were introduced in Auckland last October, it has been reported that many cyclists and pedestrians have been injured. One man suffered from a fractured jaw and another fractured his neck and lost a tooth.