E-scooter share scheme launches in Wellington

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › E-scooter share scheme launches in Wellington

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tdgeek

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#2260802 19-Jun-2019 11:27

jonathan18:

JoshWright:

I do the same, and I noticed when setting up my Flamingo account the instructions for Wellington even say "Use the cycle path when riding on Oriental Parade".

Sorry, I should have been more precise in my original message, as it's a matter of cycle path vs cycle lane; the cycle path along Oriental Parade is one completely separate to the road (but alongside/shared with pedestrians) - the e-scooter ban in relation to cycle lanes is where they are a marked part of a road otherwise used by cars, which is the case with the ones I ride on.

There's some wording in relation to this on the LTSA's site: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/vehicle-types/low-powered-vehicles/

Also this article in Stuff: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/107572115/new-electric-scooters-allowed-on-footpath-and-road-but-not-cycle-lanes

Its crazy and confusing. I would ride where I decided to. A busy road or a cycle lane/path. Its obvious, the law will catch up one day

jonathan18

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#2260803 19-Jun-2019 11:29

tdgeek:

jonathan18:
tdgeek: Agree. They need to be in cycle lanes.
And there's part of the problem - currently e-scooters are banned from using cycle lanes. When the $#@$#@ is that stupid anomaly going to get fixed? I e-scooter to work most days, the route involving decent stretches on a marked cycle lane. So technically every time I ride to/from work I'm breaking the rules, yet I'm convinced it's by far the safest place to be - for me as well as pedestrians etc.

Agree. It because the wording of the law was done before escooters existed, so its just a technicality, no more. But they cant change the law without having a bill, working parties, meetings, 5 years of tests

It looks like to me that the restriction of e-scooters from bike lanes is not in the Land Transport Act or other act, but in a Land Transport Rule (Traffic Control Devices 2004), as such I'd imagine (in theory!) it should be simpler and quicker to amend. In practice...

Cycle lane means a longitudinal strip within a roadway designed for the passage of cycles

Cycle path

(a) means part of the road that is physically separated from the roadway that is intended for the use of cyclists, but which may be used also by pedestrians; and
(b) includes a cycle track formed under section 332 of the Local Government Act 1974.
Cycle

(a) means a vehicle having at least two wheels and that is designed primarily to be propelled by the muscular energy of the rider; and
(b) includes a power-assisted cycle.
Power-assisted cycle means a cycle to which is attached one or more auxiliary propulsion motors that have a combined maximum power output not exceeding 200 watts.

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/rules/traffic-control-devices-2004/#part2

tdgeek

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#2260810 19-Jun-2019 11:46

Thanks

So we can ride on the footpath (which as we know is designed for pedestrians)

We can ride on a "cycle" path which as we know was built seperated from the road for cyclists, and its obviously much safer for all

We can ride on the road which is not very safe, but the area that is also on the road that is marked for cycles, we cannot

Crazy

E-scooters can be used on the footpath or the road, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

The scooters can be used on cycle paths, which are physically separated by a barrier or are off the road altogether but they could not be used in designated cycle lanes.

Designated cycle lanes are painted onto the road surface and have no barrier in between.

A spokeswoman for NZTA said this was because those cycle lanes were "for the sole use of cyclists"

lchiu7

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#2262819 23-Jun-2019 12:02

Tried out Flamingo today on Oriental Bay. There were quite a few scooters on the foothpath, and it seemed mainly the Uber ones but a few Flamingo. I only did a short ride of 4 minutes for which I was charged nothing since I have a bunch of free unlocks at 15 minutes courtesy time.

Seemed smaller than Lime, the only other e-scooter I have tried and easy to ride. Got it up to 20km/hr which is about as fast as I would want to go with no helmet.

As a commute vehicle I am not sure how good it would it be if you had a satchel to carry with you (I don't do back packs). For me more fun than utility.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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#2262828 23-Jun-2019 12:15

tdgeek

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#2262834 23-Jun-2019 12:38

Why do people do that?

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gzt

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#2263096 23-Jun-2019 23:09

Who knows. Possibly a footpath user with an anger issue finding one in the middle of a bridge?

Lime for instance appears to have some standard requiring users or maintainers to park the things across footpaths.

dafman

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#2263128 24-Jun-2019 05:17

geekiegeek: Personally I am not a fan of these or the ride share bikes. They just end up as visual solution scatter all around the city and reinforce for people the idea that walking should be avoided.

+1. Every time I see someone on an e-scooter, segway or hover board, I'm reminded of the second half of Wall-e

floydbloke

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#2263159 24-Jun-2019 08:34

dafman:
geekiegeek: Personally I am not a fan of these or the ride share bikes. They just end up as visual solution scatter all around the city and reinforce for people the idea that walking should be avoided.

+1. Every time I see someone on an e-scooter, segway or hover board, I'm reminded of the second half of Wall-e

I’m normally the grumpy middle-aged guy who tut-tuts at these sorts of ‘millennial’ trends as well.

In this case though, I think these things are great. They’re a quick, convenient, reasonably cost-effective way to get from one end of town to the other (unless you try an Uber Jump on a Saturday night – 3 times - and the batteries are flat) and it’s a just a bit too far too walk or you’re short of time. Also more eco-friendly than a bus or taxi.

The vast majority of users seem to be riding them responsibly and I haven’t seen any parked blocking a foot-path. No different than bicycles, advertising board or stupidly placed lamp-posts. The T&Cs are explicit about where not to ride and park and about being considerate.

Sure, there are always going to be some wombles who disregard the rules and other people but again, no different than users of legacy forms of transport like cars, bicycles, skateboards, mopeds, prams, etc.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

tdgeek

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#2263163 24-Jun-2019 08:40

floydbloke:

dafman:
geekiegeek: Personally I am not a fan of these or the ride share bikes. They just end up as visual solution scatter all around the city and reinforce for people the idea that walking should be avoided.

+1. Every time I see someone on an e-scooter, segway or hover board, I'm reminded of the second half of Wall-e

I’m normally the grumpy middle-aged guy who tut-tuts at these sorts of ‘millennial’ trends as well.

In this case though, I think these things are great. They’re a quick, convenient, reasonable cost-effective way to get from one end of town to the other (unless you try an Uber Jump on a Saturday night – 3 times - and the batteries are flat) and it’s a just a bit too far too walk or you’re short of time. Also more eco-friendly than a bus or taxi.

The vast majority of users seem to be riding them responsibly and I haven’t seen any parked blocking a foot-path. No different than bicycles, advertising board or stupidly placed lamp-posts. The T&Cs are explicit about where not to ride and park and about being considerate.

Sure, there are always going to be some wombles who disregard the rules and other people but again, no different than users of legacy forms of transport like cars, bicycles, skateboards, mopeds, prams, etc.

Well said. They may play a part in reducing emissions,as they fix "the last mile" with public transport, at the home end and/or the destination end

It would be helpful if they had a code as to where and how they were dropped off, to tidy that up a bit

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