If you sent in a submission on e-scooters you should have got the following reply. We’re sending this for the benefit of those who didn’t send in anything.
We’re getting in touch to let you know that we have decided to renew the e-scooter declaration for a further five years.
Here is a link to the new declaration notice: E–Scooters (Declaration Not to be Motor Vehicles) Notice 2023
What is the e-scooter declaration?
Waka Kotahi has the power to declare that a vehicle or device is not a motor vehicle under section 168A of the Land Transport Act 1998.
The e-scooter declaration states that e-scooters that are 300 watts or under are not motor vehicles. This means they don’t have to be licensed or registered like motor vehicles do.
It also means they can be ridden in public, including on footpaths, as long as riders are considerate of other users and ride at a safe speed. This is a requirement under the Road User Rule 2004.
Why we’ve decided to renew the declaration
In making our decision, we needed to balance the contribution that e-scooters make to our transport system with safety concerns.
E-scooters are being used more and more across New Zealand. They’re used for getting from one place to another as well as for recreation, user satisfaction is high, and e-scooters can have emissions reduction benefits.
Without a declaration in place, e-scooters would not be able to be used anywhere other than on private property.
E-scooters play an important and useful role in our transport system, and we need to allow for them – but we also need to look at how safety can be improved
We will be focusing on safety improvements
We know that there are safety concerns about e-scooters and the way they are used.
Our review found that the greatest risk is to e-scooter riders themselves. We also found that many pedestrians feel anxious or stressed about sharing the footpaths with them.
Even with safety systems in place (such as rules requiring e-scooter riders to ride at safe speeds and be considerate of pedestrians, and no-go and low-speed zones for rental e-scooters) we think more can be done.
Our next steps will be to work with local authorities, e-scooter rental companies, the Ministry of Transport, Police and others to focus on enhancements to existing systems to promote safe use of e-scooters, both for users and pedestrians.
For more information
You can find out more about our decision and our review on our webpage: www.nzta.govt.nz/escooter-