Wellington City Council has selected two companies to roll out the trial of the city’s first electric scooter share scheme.

Licences will be given to locally owned start-up company Flamingo and to Jump, which is owned and operated by Uber.

The two companies were selected following an evaluation of all of the five operators who submitted proposals. The selection process included an independent evaluator.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester says the trial will help the Council to determine the city’s policy around micro-mobility transport, which includes e-scooters and bike share schemes.

“As in other cities, transport is continuing to evolve. We want to make sure people have easy access to different ways of getting around – whether they’re just travelling across town or commuting to work. The e-scooter trial means we can test the demand, how e-scooters fit in the context of Wellington, and rider behaviour.”

Council officers are developing a code of practice that will guide the practical and safe implementation of the trial, including any restrictions on how and where people can ride. This is being informed by independent advice and will be the subject of a report going back to Councillors next week.

A start date has not yet been decided but is likely to be towards mid-2019 – licences can be issued once the code of practice has been finalised. The trial will initially last six months, but can be extended by 12 months to allow time for consultation and policy engagement.

Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, the Council’s Portfolio Leader for Transport Strategy, says a trial gives the Council more control over how e-scooters are rolled out across the city.

“The best chance to manage outcomes is likely to be through the licensing of commercial operators so people are less inclined to buy their own scooter over which we have no control. We’ll be monitoring the trial closely, with a particular focus on pedestrian and user safety.”

Councillors on the City Strategy Committee voted in favour of the trial in February.

The other companies to approach the Council to operate an electric scooter share scheme in Wellington were Blip Scooters, Fuutr, Lime, Onzo, Scoot International, and Goat.

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