Living Streets Aotearoa is adding its voice to the call for NZTA to allow Ario to continue reparking its e-scooters by remote control.

The decision by the New Zealand Transport Agency to make the Ario e-scooter company turn off its remote reparking feature has drawn criticism from disability groups.

Chris Teo-Sherrell from Living Streets says any measure which makes e-scooters more pedestrian friendly is worthwhile and remote parking is one such feature.

“Remote parking of e-scooters gets them out of the way of people who might have difficulty detecting or navigating around those parked or dropped on footpaths.

“We believe there should also be designated parking spaces for these e-scooters, away from the general line of travel on a footpath. These parking areas should be on the kerb side of the footpath, or in parking spaces on the roadway, and not against buildings which some people with disabilities use to navigate their way,” he says.

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