The Transport Agency has admitted it rushed the process to allow e-scooters on footpaths at the request of Lime, after complaints were made to the Regulations and Review Select Committee about it.
Lime scooters back in Auckland this morning. Photo: RNZ /SUPPLIED
It was revealed in March that a notice was published in the Gazette to clarify that e-scooters were non-motor vehicles, just days after Lime requested it by email.
The Transport Agency declined to comment at the time, but in its submission to the select committee last week it said, it accepted "that the process was treated as urgent and expedited in response to requests for urgency from Lime in particular".
However, it also said that it did not issue the notices in response to the request from Lime, as the complaints allege.
It said it had first received a request from e-scooter companies in July, two months prior to Lime making contact, and that policy investigations had commenced before that.
Disability advocate Jane Carrigan complained to the select committee because she felt the process had been completed hastely.
"The issue of licensing escooters - not just Lime - e-scooters in the manner they did it's an error in law basically - they have an obligation, that sort of issue would be regarded as a major policy shift."
She did not think that couple of months instead of a couple of days was much better.
"Two months... to consider such a major shift in affect of law change is outrageous - the Agency has adopted Lime's business model of go in hard, make the changes and do a big mea culpa afterwards."