Lime and Keven Mealamu to host safe scooting summit at Eden Park

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner (right) and rugby legend Keven Mealamu take a ride on Lime e-scooters. Photo / Supplied

Rugby legend Keven Mealamu will be on hand to celebrate electric scooter safety when Lime holds its Rider Safety Summit at Eden Park tomorrow.

The summit is part of the American-based ride sharing giant's US$3 million ($4.3m) global investment in reinforcing the importance of rider safety through its 'Respect the Ride' campaign.

Lime Launcher Hank Rowe said the company is committed to the safety of riders and the wider community.

"Safety remains our number one priority and we will continue to educate our riders on best riding practices," Rowe said.

"While we take all incident reports seriously, we are glad to say less than 0.05 per cent of Lime rides in New Zealand have resulted in injury."

Nick Sautner, Eden Park chief executive, said he was excited to be a part of the first event of its kind in the country.

"We're pleased to be able to offer Aucklanders an opportunity to learn the ABCs of safe scooter practise ahead of the summer break," Sautner said.

"This will enable more Kiwis, and tourists, to utilise this accessible mode of transport to come and go from the Park more seamlessly."

Lime's venture into the New Zealand market has quickly proven fruitful since launching their e-scooters in mid-October.

Already the company has recorded more than 500,000 rides and has 150,000 active unique riders, according to figures released by Lime.

But the e-scooters have also been criticised by some members of the public who have reported incidents ranging from pedestrians being run into, scooters being left in dangerous places, and multiple people trying to ride the one scooter.

Since their launch there have been 285 public insurance claims for injuries caused by the scooters, according to figures released by Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) yesterday.

And the data also shows the rate of injuries has been accelerating.

Between October 14 and November 12 there were nearly 150 injury claims, but since then there have almost been as many claims made – around 135 – in the past 13 days.

Mealamu, a former All Black and Blues player, is now the ambassador for Eden Park.

Tomorrow's event will be free entry, and there will be games and give-a-ways too.