Overview
Auckland's complicated love affair with electric scooters has taken another twist. Just as Lime's fleet of green scooters return to the streets — following a brake malfunctioning issue — new operator Wave lands on the scene.
The Brisbane-registered company was granted a licence to operate e-scooters in December 2018, as part of Auckland Council and Auckland Transport's shared e-scooter service trial. In the trial Wave is licensed to operate up to 500 scooters in the city centre and surrounding areas until the end of March. It will initially roll out 285.
The Wave scooters will be trialled with a lower speed limit of 15 kilometres per hour in heavy pedestrian areas like Queen Street, Wynyard Quarter and the Viaduct Basin. The restriction will be implemented via technology in the company's app, and will slow riders to the appropriate speed when entering the zones. The e-scooters have a top speed of 25 kilometres per hour. In the same format as Lime, they will cost $1 to unlock and 30 cents per minute to ride.
The company has also assured Auckland Council that the model of scooter has had no reports of locking brakes. It has also provided assurance that it will recall its fleet immediately if any malfunctions occur.
Wave's e-scooters are licensed to operate between 5am and 1am each day. The service will launch on Wednesday, 13 March.