Ario e-scooters Photo: Supplied: Ario
Disabled people will face a new challenge after Waka Kotahi the New Zealand Transport Agency forced a scooter provider to turn off a popular feature.
Abandoned e-scooters blocking footpaths are trip hazards for everyone - but pose a particular danger to many people with disabilities.
Ario e-scooters, operating in Auckland, can be remotely parked out of harm's way - but the company has been forced to turn off this feature.
The scooters have three wheels, two at the front and one at the back, and a self-stabilising system to help right themselves.
They can scan the area around them to work out where they are and if they are blocking the footpath.
Ario general manager Adam Muirson said all the tech is there to get the scooter out of the way if it's badly parked.
"If it's not been parked correctly, someone in our Auckland based warehouse will log into it and remote repark it, with the vast majority being less than 10 metres just to get it out of the way and get access way again on the footpath."
But the New Zealand Transport Agency said remote-controlled scooters break the rules on what's allowed - so that feature must be turned off.
"Councils approached NZTA to ask for a determination on whether or not a remotely controlled e-scooter is permitted to operate under the current legislation, as specified by the definition of 'wheeled recreational device' in the E-Scooter (Declaration Not to be Motor Vehicles) Notice 2023 , and in the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004," a spokesperson said.
"NZTA has advised councils that remote controlled e-scooters fall outside the current definition of a 'wheeled recreational device' because the motor is not an 'auxiliary' motor when the device is operated remotely. When operated remotely the motor is the only source of propulsion available, so it cannot be considered auxiliary."
It said any law change would have to come from the Ministry of Transport.
Muirson said he wanted a bit of flexibility from the agency, or a bigger change.
"I think there's multiple paths forward, one would be adjusting the interpretation and everyone could get back to business tomorrow. It could be a longer piece of work, which could require regulatory change."
BJ Clark from CCS Disability Action was disappointed.
He said scooters on footpaths are at best annoying, and at worse dangerous.
"It just it just bars the way on footpaths, et cetera. If you're in a wheelchair, it's not necessarily possible for you to shift it and if you have a sight impairment, then you're going to strike the obstacle.
"For too long, people with impairments have had to fight every inch of the way to get better access to the community, a right that many of us take for granted.
"Maybe someone just needs to say we have a problem here, let's get it fixed and get it done."
In the meantime, Ario is employing more people to go out and move the scooters to stop them being a hazard.
