Mai said the Northland-first e-scooter trial would help the community use the millions of dollars worth of shared walking and cycling paths around the city the council had put in place in recent years, such as the Kamo shared path and the Hatea Loop.
The Whangārei trial will be based on operating and safety requirements from Wellington City Council's code of practice for e-scooter providers.
Wellington-based global micromobility company Beam approached the council to run the e-scooters. Another company Flamingo also initially wanted to provide its pink e-scooters for the trial, but decided to pull out because of Covid-19, according to Jeff Devine, Northland Transportation Alliance strategy and planning manager.
Devine said WDC would consider Whangārei trial results, with other operators potentially adding to the mix in future.
He said many of the early challenges of shared pay-as-you-go e-scooters, including safety issues, had been ironed out as the sector developed.
ACC has paid out almost $17 million in e-scooter-related injuries since they first appeared in New Zealand in October 2018. It paid out $16,680,910 in claims, with the average claim cost totalling $2400 between October 2018 to April 2021. Claims spiked in 2019 and have been decreasing since then.
In answer to Northern Advocate questions around whether WDC was satisfied concerns around safety and potential accidents had been adequately addressed, Mai said the e-scooters had wheels, therefore had risk.
But all forms of transport had risk, she said.
"Yes, I acknowledge that because the scooter is something with wheels, there is a risk of people falling off," Mai said.
It was therefore great to see the e-scooter company did safety training with first-time users ahead of them taking out the transport option, Mai said.
The e-scooters will be set to travel at three speed zones using GPS technology.
Their electric travelling power will stop working in the 87-metre Cameron Street Mall section between Rathbone and James streets, when the scooters will need to be pushed - in line with council rules banning skateboards in the area.
They will be set at 12-15km/h around the central city through to Town Basin and around the Hātea Loop walkway.
The e-scooters will otherwise be able to travel at speeds of up to 25km/h around the rest of Whangārei.
They are booked via a company app. Purple helmets are attached to the e-scooter with a bluetooth electronic smart lock that can only be unlocked, through the app, by riders.
Users must be 16. Whangārei Girls High School leaver Harmony Morunga, 16, said the new e-scooter option was great. It provided easy access and saved money on taxis.
Cr Nick Connop said 75 per cent of a recent Facebook group poll he had conducted were in favour of the new microbility option for Whangārei.
Cr Tricia Cutforth said she supported the principle of rentable e-scooters but had concerns about Hātea Loop users being able to hear them coming, particularly those who were deaf or wearing headphones.
Beam is Asia-Pacific's largest micromobility operator with New Zealand operations in Auckland, Wellington and Palmerston North.
