The fate of Lime scooters in Dunedin and Auckland hangs in the balance after a braking malfunction.
Auckland Council will make the decision on whether to extend its suspension of the e-scooter trial on Monday, after ordering the popular rides off the streets on Friday.
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Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says the company has been proactive in its problem-solving efforts.
"Lime voluntarily offered to take them off Dunedin streets until such time they had satisfied the concerns in Auckland," he told Newshub.
There have been dozens of reports of Lime scooters suddenly braking on their own, sending riders flying into the pavement.
"We have been clear with Lime representatives that the equipment used on our transport network must be safe for use," Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said last week.
Mr Cull says the city will take its cues from Auckland Council.
"Once they've convinced Auckland and shown them the evidence they can fix the problem, they'll be wanting to bring them back onto the streets of Dunedin as well."
He says they've been "a positive addition to the travel choices in our city and been very heavily patronised".
In response to the suspension, Lime urged its users to email Auckland Councillors - as of Sunday afternoon, they'd been spammed with more than 4500 emails each, annoying Councillor Richard Hills.
"People who might be clicking the support button are confused that the Council's against Lime in general, when it's just about the defect," he told Newshub.
"A petition or a list of names would have been awesome - then we could have seen the support. But right now it's sort of misguided, when Lime knows it's their [braking] issue, not the overall issue of Lime, that needs to be fixed."
Newshub.
