Lime, the start-up behind the electric scooters that recently hit New Zealand streets, is looking to roll out its car-sharing service in the country.
The firm plans to seek a licence from Auckland Council to launch its Lime Pods when it acquires a permanent licence for its scooters after the trial period, which runs until March 31, NZ Herald reports. It is reportedly in talks with the council to park the pods in council-controlled spaces.
Lime’s new service is said to operate similarly to its scooter offerings. The pods, two-seater car models, can be found and rented using the Lime app. They can be unlocked via the app or with a QR code. In the US, the fee is US$15 with charges of 30c to 40c per minute. Lime reportedly said it will pay all insurance costs, but did not provide details of the coverage.
“We take a user-centric approach and a lot of people want to take longer trips that might not be a good fit for a scooter. So, we’re piloting the LimePod programme,” Lime founder Toby Sun told the Weekend Herald.
“It would be really interesting to see how much demand there is out there,” NZ Automobile Association principal advisor for infrastructure Barney Irvine said. “If they can make it work, it’s only good news for the transport business.’”
NZ Herald reported that the Lime founder arrived in Auckland last week to celebrate the firm’s one-millionth ride in NZ and for a meeting with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff about the company’s trial launch period.
The publication detailed that the groundwork has been laid for a possible five-cent levy per Lime ride (a Lime costs $1 to unlock, then 60c per minute) if money is earmarked for more cycle lanes - but Lime was undecided whether it would cover the scooter tax or pass the cost on to users. Additionally, the firm is reportedly open to some of the per-ride fee going to ACC, which has reported a boom in e-scooter injury claims since Lime’s launch.
