In theory, e-scooter riders are not permitted on designated cycleways under NZTA regulations. Composite photo / Michael Craig
As two-wheeled commuter transport surges in popularity, those in the industry claim NZTA’s regulations are outdated, confusing, and illogical, leaving the owners of more powerful e-scooters and e-bikes with no option but to ride them illegally. Jane Phare reports.
Faced with nightmarish traffic congestion, expensive fuel, and the rising cost of living, city commuters are increasingly opting to get to work on two wheels.
Imports of e-scooters and e-bikes have soared in recent years; so has the use of hired e-scooters, particularly in Auckland.
But retailers and road-user organisations say the current regulations governing e-micromobility are outdated, confusing and lack common sense.
They’re frustrated that the rules appear to date back to a time when e-scooters were little more than a low-powered toy. As such they are allowed on footpaths, shared paths, and roads, and their riders don’t need to wear helmets by law.
However, as the regulations stand, any e-scooters over 300W in power can only be used on private property. That’s undoubtedly news to thousands of owners and commuters who regularly use roads and cycleways each day, whizzing along on e-transport well over 300W.
And, under another nonsensical restriction, no e-scooter is allowed on designated cycleways no matter what the power output. Again, this is news to riders like Aucklander Ella Wilks who commutes daily into the city from her Ponsonby home on her 250W e-scooter and regularly uses cycle lanes.
“I assumed we were supposed to be in the cycle lanes. I thought we can be anywhere.”
Inconclusive references on the website of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) add to the confusion.
Seemingly startled in the headlights of the e-vehicle boom, the agency shows little inclination to update the regulations.
Nor do the police seem too bothered about nabbing riders using powerful e-scooters on roads and footpaths, or illegally in cycle lanes. A spokesperson said that although the police were aware that e-scooters over the permitted 300W were being used on roads and footpaths, they did not routinely monitor the wattage.
Wilks, in her late 30s, said her e-scooter had been a “godsend” since she bought it nearly five years ago.
“No petrol costs and extremely low maintenance and free parking under my desk.”
Officially Wilks’ e-scooter has a top speed of 25km/h but she got impatient with how slow it was going up long, steep hills. “So I jail broke it [modified the software]. Now it goes about 37km/h [on the flat].”
While she trundles up Auckland’s steep Franklin Road after work each day, Wilks is often passed by “enormous” e-scooters doing 50km/h up the hill, vehicles that are considerably more highly powered than hers.
Powerful e-bikes, too, appear to be used on New Zealand’s roads and cycle lanes illegally. In theory, e-bikes above 300W are classified as mopeds and must be registered for road use.
However, even that requirement is murky because mopeds need front and rear lights, a horn, rear-view mirrors, indicators and the vehicle must have a number plate on the back. Riders must also have some sort of driver’s licence.
As it stands unregistered e-bikes over 300W should not be used on roads or cycle lanes. Recreational paths like the Otago Rail Trail warn that e-bikes above the 300W output are classified as mopeds and therefore not allowed on the trail.
All those spoken to by the Herald agreed that the introduction of safety and speed restrictions for e-micromobility was long overdue.
Living Streets spokesman Dr Chris Teo-Sherrell says his organisation has repeatedly pointed out to the NZTA that powerful e-scooters breach the conditions of the latest e-scooter declaration, part of the Land Transport Act, which will be in place until 2028. That declaration limits e-scooter output to 300W.
“They appear uninterested,” he said.
Living Streets wants e-scooters banned from footpaths altogether, saying vehicles capable of speeds of more than 20km/h do not belong where pedestrians are walking at speeds between 2 and 5km/h, or in wheelchairs. Instead they should be allowed on cycleways with Teo-Sherrell describing the regulation as a “glaring anomaly”.
Wilks agrees that e-scooters shouldn’t be allowed on footpaths, although she admits to riding on them occasionally.
“We shouldn’t really be sharing a carriageway with pedestrians. And the footpath is actually quite dangerous for scooters because it’s full of roots and things like that.”
She points out that in places Auckland city cycle lanes, too, can be dangerous. “Why on earth do you have a cycle lane going between the bus stop and a footpath because people get off the bus and walk straight into you.” In those circumstances, riding briefly on the footpath was safer, she said.
One Auckland e-scooter retailer, who consults with others in the industry, wants NZTA to stop legislating around specific vehicles and instead establish some sensible user guidelines, including speed restrictions.
Jonno Leonard, owner of the Electric Scooter Shop in Auckland’s Takapuna, says the NZTA has not kept up with a fast-developing form of transport that outstrips the understanding and the legislation surrounding it.
“A regime that constantly tries to categorise everything will always trip itself up because they’ll never be in front of the technology,” he said.
“The technology doesn’t stop, it’s always churning away in the background getting cleverer and more innovative.”
Leonard says that although he appreciates the NZTA is not trying to be deliberately obstructive, he and others in the industry are “immensely frustrated” at regulations that don’t make sense.
“As an industry we are begging for a simplified system to allow people to safely use the scooters they own and want to own. "
He’d like to see “safe-speed” statutes introduced so that all e-riders know where they stand, and fines for those who don’t comply. And he can’t understand why e-scooter riders are not allowed in designated cycle lanes when cyclists and e-bikers can easily reach 40km/h, or why e-scooter riders are not required by law to wear helmets whereas cyclists and e-bikers are.
“We won’t let anyone near one without a helmet. We insist everyone buys one or has one. We’ve seen them save lives among our own staff.”
Others in the industry agree. Auckland e-scooter dealer Freed Electric Scooters says this on its website: “Wearing safety helmets is highly recommended, but for some completely mad reason, not yet legally required”.
Wilks admits she doesn’t wear a helmet on her daily commute but knows she should, and thinks wearing a helmet should be compulsory for all e-scooter riders.
The Automobile Association (AA) has called on the NZTA to sort out the issue. It wants to see mandatory helmet-wearing introduced, and more rigorous restrictions around the sale and use of powerful e-scooters. And it wants the NZTA to ban e-scooters from footpaths and allow them on designated cycleways.
Principal adviser Terry Collins says the AA supports the growing use of micromobility vehicles such as e-scooters as a handy form of transport if used considerately.
However, the use of high-powered e-scooters on roads and footpaths was highly concerning, he said.
Even though international data shows a high incidence of head and face injuries resulting from e-scooter accidents, NZTA has not indicated it is about to change that.
Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claims have steadily risen since e-transport has become popular in recent years. Last year 3170 active e-scooter claims (some ongoing claims relate to the previous year) cost $9.6 million (excluding GST). That’s up from 2288 active claims in 2021 at a cost of $6.9m. So far, to May this year, 1876 active claims have cost just over $5m.
Wilks warns that e-scooters can be extremely dangerous to ride in the wet if the wheel touches one of the metal plates in the road or on the footpath.
“They’re very dangerous in the rain. In any of these scooters the second your wheel touches one of the metal plates or manhole covers, it slides sideways. You have to avoid them at all costs. If you go over them you will generally fall off the scooter.”
Last year 2284 active e-bike related claims were lodged with ACC at a cost of $5.62m, up from 1667 in 2021 at a cost of $3.14m. So far this year 1398 claims are active, at a cost of $2.8m.
The largest group of accident-prone e-scooter riders are in their teens, 20s, and 30s, whereas the highest number of claims for e-bike accidents come from people in their 60s. Last year claims in the 60 to 64 age group cost $1.1m and, in the 65 to 69 age group, $744,859.
The very elderly show up in the data too. Last year 30 new e-bike claims were lodged by riders aged 85 and over, and 14 in that age group for e-scooters.
In reality, the cost for e-accidents is higher than that. The ACC data doesn’t include the ACC’s Accredited Employers Programme. Nor does it include bulk-funded services, including the majority of ambulance services and acute treatment at public hospitals which is funded through ACC’s $741m contribution to Public Health Acute Services.
New Zealand is not the only country in the world trying to come to grips with how to regulate e-micromobility. The OECD International Transport Forum’s “safer micromobility” report lists more than 20 recommendations including speed restrictions on paths and roads, geo-fencing to enforce speed limits, penalties for illegal use and rider education in secondary schools.
Monitor Auckland’s highly successful, and at times overcrowded, north-western cycleway in rush hour and the spike in micromobility is obvious, with walkers, joggers and those on two wheels jostling for space.
It’s also obvious that riders of more powerful (more than 300W) e-scooters and e-bikes either don’t know, or don’t care, that they shouldn’t be there. Neither do the moped and Vespa commuters who sometimes use the north-western because, limited to 50km/h, they cannot legally use the motorway.
Import figures show e-micromobility vehicles are soaring in popularity. Last year more than 94,800 electric micro-transport imports – e-bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds – were imported, worth $184m. And e-scooters are becoming more powerful.
Some of the larger scooters have 2000W motors on each wheel, hydraulic suspension and hydraulic brakes, better lighting, proper turn signals and larger batteries giving a much greater range.
Leonard said more powerful e-scooters were popular with more mature commuters who wanted enough grunt to get up hills and enough battery power to go significant distances.
“We have to say people, ‘we can sell it to you and it’s up to you where you ride it’.”
He, like other retailers, wants to “be out of the shadows” to be able to legitimise sales.
“We’re long overdue for a real-world update.”
As traffic congestion worsens and housing intensification increases, commuters will increasingly turn to options like e-scooters, Leonard says. The Electric Scooter Shop now offers 25 different models ranging from $1100 to $7000.
Sales have grown by 50 per cent year on year for the past five years, with customers ranging in age from 30 to 50. Seventy per cent are male and about 80 per cent of all customers are using their e-scooters to get to work.
An Auckland developer bought 80 e-scooters to give one free to each apartment owner. Leonard has also sold them to the Navy, and the Air Force at Whenuapai, and the Hamilton City Council bought two e-scooters for their quick-response staff to use.
Michael Tritt, founder of e-bike specialists Electrify NZ which has 10 New Zealand stores, says he’s loathe to call for more regulation but favours an update of the safety rules.
“I’d certainly like to see more clarity around the rules because at the moment there’s a lot of ambiguity and there is zero enforcement.”
Tritt rides his e-bike 10km every day to work and says he is regularly passed by e-scooters that are clearly above the 300W threshold.
“It (e-micromobility) is here to stay and so how do we put in place speed and safety measures to try and make it as safe as possible without stymieing what’s a very useful contribution to our transportation solutions in terms of efficiency and emissions?”
Rental companies offering e-scooters, seated scooters and e-bikes also report a surge in use. Lime, which operates in five centres, reported a 75 per cent increase in ridership in 2023 compared to the previous year. In Auckland e-scooter usage grew by 108 per cent.
Beam rental scooters, which operates in eight centres, reported a 35 per cent year-on-year increase and says 40 per cent of riders use the e-scooters for commuting purposes across New Zealand, both to work and study.
Companies like Lime and Beam comply with the 300W power limitation and use geo-fencing to restrict speeds.
But commuters are increasingly buying their own grunty machines that will carry them lengthy distances and cope with hills.
Some high-powered scooters are capable of speeds of 80km/h and more. The more powerful e-bikes can be between 500W and 1000W and again can travel at decent speeds.
Other forms of e-transport like electric skateboards, electric unicycles and electric minibikes – a small bike with a throttle and footrests but no pedals - can also whip along.
The Motor Industry Association (MIA) isn’t happy with what it describes as an uneven playing field as a result of the NZTA’s lack of action. Mark Stockdale, principal technical adviser for the MIA, says some micromobility vehicles have the same power and speed as mopeds and commuter motorcycles, yet are not registered. Nor do riders need to wear helmets.
“These rules are there for a reason, to protect the rider and alert other road users they share the road with,” he said.
E-vehicles over 300W should meet current regulations at the point of importation, Stockdale said. That meant they could not be sold if they did not meet the same standards as mopeds to enable them to be registered.
Jane Phare is a senior Auckland-based business, features and investigations journalist, former assistant editor of NZ Herald and former editor of the Weekend Herald and Viva.
The change may add $25m annually to costs during a cost-of-living crisis.