City destroys Lime scooters at three times the rate of any other market in New Zealand

Hamilton vandals are devastating the city’s scooter fleet, with up to eight vehicles per week destroyed, according to a company spokeswoman.

The disclosure came at a Hamilton City Council meeting where Lauren Mentjox, public affairs manager for Lime NZ, addressed the meeting via an audiovisual link to discuss establishing a new fee structure for rental devices. staff in town.

“It has been a really difficult year for us,” he said. “In Hamilton we are seeing a really high rate of vandalism. On average, about eight scooters are destroyed per week.

“Until we get it under control, we really can’t afford to upgrade our fleet as much as we would like,” he said at a meeting this month.

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Lime wanted to work with the city council and the police to solve the mystery of who was committing the vandalism.

“What does Hamilton have that leads to a higher incidence of vandalism?” Councilman Ewan Wilson asked.

“I’d love to have the answer to that, I don’t know,” Mentjox replied.

After his presentation to the council, Stuff He asked Mentjox if he could explain how the devices were being destroyed and what the cost per device was for his company.

She declined to answer those questions and instead issued a short statement.

“Vandalism adds significant costs to our business in Hamilton, not only the cost of the device itself, but also the administration, recovery, repairs if possible and the missed opportunity to rent a scooter,” he said.

“The type of vandalism varies, but overall the rate in Hamilton is three times higher than in our other New Zealand markets.

“It’s something we take seriously, and we will take action against anyone who is trashing our scooters.

Lime had previously indicated to the council that the current fee structure based on the number of scooters allowed was not sustainable in the post-Covid-19 environment and put the commercial viability of its Hamilton operation at risk.

Fees and charges applied to Lime, which is operating in Hamilton on a trial basis, as of February 27 is $ 85 per scooter per year, based on 600 devices. This equates to $ 51,000 per year or $ 4,250 per month.

Lime can operate exclusively in Hamilton until the trial ends in March.

A system that calculates operator fees based on the number of trips made versus the maximum number of scooters allowed would be a much better deal for them and, the company has argued, incentivize Lime to maximize the number of trips made in order. to make a profit.

Councilors were presented with a proposal to introduce a fee structure of 13 cents per trip, higher than Lime’s proposal of 10 cents, but lower than a 15-cent-per-trip agreement that the company had reached with the City Council. Tauranga District.

“Since we launched in the city last year, passengers have made almost 340,000 trips … We don’t want them to be idle. It’s no use to anyone having idle scooters on the streets, ”Mentjox told council members.

After a brief debate, the council adopted the new fee structure, which will stand until the trial ends, with only Cr Angela O’Leary and Mayor Paula Southgate disagreeing.

“I am looking for some equity. I’m thinking about hospitality and how we apply our fees to tables and chairs, ”O’Leary said. “Tables and chairs can sit outside for hours and cannot be used.

“In terms of cost and sitting outside while they’re not being used, that’s my reason for voting against.”

Cr Dave Macpherson felt that the rate change should benefit the council, which should be happy to take some of the responsibility.

“It returns the responsibility to the city council to help support and promote that mode … If we are going to get more money promoting more attractions, that helps our strategy.