Flamingo's e-scooters land in Christchurch

Wellington-based Flamingo Scooters will start offering its electric scooters for hire in Christchurch from Sunday.

The company will officially launch its Christchurch fleet in Cathedral Square on Sunday, between 11am and 2pm, with a barbecue and give-aways.

It is the third e-scooter company to set up in Christchurch since Californian-based company Lime was given permission in October 2018 to operate its scooters in the city on a trial basis.

The trial proved so successful that in February this year the Council granted Lime a 12-month permit to trade in Christchurch and permission to add 300 scooters to its 700-strong fleet.

Since then the Council has also given Singapore-based Beam a permit to operate up to 300 e-scooters in Christchurch.

“Flamingo also has a permit to operate up to 300 scooters so that means there are, in total, 1600 e-scooters available for hire in Christchurch ,’’ says Council Transport Operations Manager Steffan Thomas.

“That’s the maximum number of scooters allowed under the citywide cap the Council agreed on so there is no capacity at this stage for any other companies to enter the Christchurch market.

“We are monitoring the use of e-scooters and will review all the permits that have been issued early in the new year,’’ Mr Thomas says.