Lime scooters launch in the Hutt Valley

Lime scooters, which have taken Auckland and Christchurch by storm, have now launched in the Hutt Valley.

The official launch for the electric scooters took place in Petone on Friday morning.

Katie Heron, a Wellington resident, said that scooters were "pretty great, they go pretty fast. We got up to about 25km and just stayed at that most of the time".

Region Operations Manager for Lime in Wellington Sam Seiniger says the scooters have been launched in Upper and Lower Hutt because "The Hutt Valley is a beautiful place with great scenic paths, so we want people out of cars exploring the cities"

"Parking around train stations in Lower Hutt is especially overwhelmed, so the scooters are a fantastic addition, making public transport more accessible to commuters".

He says that the scooters will be "providing commuters with much needed connectivity to public transport infrastructure".

Mr Seiniger says Lime is aiming to bring the scooters to Wellington's CBD in early 2019.

Lime has recorded 20 million rides since it began operating in 2017. 

With a top speed of 25km/h they have drawn some negative press for being dangerous. Thirty-eight claims were lodged with ACC in the first two weeks after Lime launched in Christchurch and Auckland.

Ms Heron said that despite the Limes being "really fun", she was worried about the speed and said that "once you hit a crack, it seems pretty dodgy".

However, Lime says they have been "working closely with NZTA to make sure all risks and safety concerns have been mitigated".

Mr Seiniger says that Lime is launching a "Respect the Ride campaign along with the scooters to promote safety. So that'll involve education and helmet giveaways and things like that".

New Zealand Lime launcher Hank Rowe says that the success of Lime in New Zealand has been smooth sailing so far. 

"I always knew Kiwis would relish the opportunity to use a greener, innovative and fun mode of transport".

Newshub.