An overwhelming majority of Dunedin councillors have voted to review a bylaw in the city with an eye to control Lime scooters.
Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Unlike Auckland and Christchurch, Lime has not had to pay a fee to operate the popular e-scooters in Dunedin.
But mooted changes to an existing bylaw - the Mobile Trading and Temporary Stall Bylaw - will allow fees and a licensing scheme to be implemented in the city.
The motion also included a call for the NZ Transport Agency to nationally administer aspects of e-scooter use, including compulsory helmets, speed limits and using them in cycleways.
Fourteen of the city's 15 councillors voted in favour of the motion with only Councillor Kate Wilson abstaining.
Councillor David Benson-Pope was vocal at the meeting, saying he was "concerned about safety, and particularly the downright dangerous behaviour in our shopping precincts".
Mr Benson-Pope was so concerned he introduced a further measure calling for council staff to provide advice on ways to limit e-scooters' use on footpaths in busy pedestrian areas.
That motion was supported by 13 councillors with Ms Wilson and Councillor Jim O'Malley abstaining.
Several councillors raised concerns with the safety of the scooters around pedestrians and did not believe relying on the police to manage behaviour was realistic.
