E-scooters in Dunedin, New Zealand: Flamingo, prices, the rules, the University and Baldwin Street

Which e-scooter apps work in Dunedin?

One company runs shared e-scooters in Ōtepoti Dunedin in 2026: Flamingo. Since 2021 a scooter-share company has needed a permit to trade on Dunedin’s streets under the council’s Trading in Public Places Bylaw. In March 2024 the Dunedin City Council asked for one operator to be the city’s sole provider from 1 July 2024, and on 30 May 2024 it awarded the permit to Flamingo.

At 12.03pm on Saturday 31 October 2026 the map of Dunedin showed 346 Flamingo scooters free to rent at that moment. That total covers Flamingo’s whole Dunedin area, which reaches from the St Clair and St Kilda beaches up to hill suburbs such as Halfway Bush and Māori Hill, and out to Green Island and Port Chalmers: it has marked parking spots in each. The map shows each scooter’s place, its range and Flamingo’s price; zoom in and it also draws Flamingo’s zones and marked spots, but the app has the final word.

Lime, Neuron and Beam don’t rent shared scooters here. Lime brought the first ones in January 2019 and left in June 2021, when it chose not to apply for a new permit. Neuron, which arrived in February 2021 and was the sole operator from July 2021, ran until 30 June 2024, and Flamingo took over the next day.

How much does a Flamingo scooter cost in Dunedin?

Flamingo’s Dunedin rate is NZ$1 to unlock and 45c a minute, 24 hours a day, every day. It publishes that single plan for the city, and the price shows on each scooter on the map.

Discounts. Flamingo gives up to 50% off its standard ride rates to tertiary students with a valid ID and to SuperGold, Community Services, Total Mobility and Hāpai Access card holders. The discount doesn’t apply to its ride passes.

Free minutes. AA members who link their membership get 30 free minutes to use in their first 30 days, then 15 free minutes a month; the unlock fee still applies. Parking at one of Flamingo’s marked spots earns ride credit.

Charges. Flamingo’s terms allow charges of up to NZ$50, or more, for riding outside its area, parking in a no-parking zone or parking unsafely, or an unclear end-of-ride photo. New to shared e-scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Do you need a licence or a helmet? New Zealand’s e-scooter rules

The riding rules are national, the same as in Christchurch. NZTA, the national transport agency, has declared e-scooters with a power output of up to 300 W not to be motor vehicles, so you can ride one without a driving licence or registration, visitor or not. It renewed that declaration in September 2023 for five years, to 2028. The council adds its permit; Flamingo and the University of Otago add their own rules.

Flamingo’s terms require a helmet. No law asks e-scooter riders for one, though NZTA strongly recommends it; Flamingo’s rental contract says you must wear an approved bicycle helmet. Account holders can order a free Flamingo helmet, paying NZ$10 for delivery.

Cycle lanes are new. A change to the national road rules opened them to e-scooters on 1 October 2026; until then, riding in one was illegal. Since the same day, a driver passing you in the same lane must leave at least 1.5 m.

There’s no 15 km/h footpath limit. A footpath speed limit was proposed in 2020, in a government package called Accessible Streets, and never became law. The 15 km/h you’ll meet on George Street is Flamingo’s slow-zone limit.

Drinking. Police say e-scooter riders can be charged under the Land Transport Act 1998, with careless driving for instance. Flamingo asks you not to drink before or while riding.

Where to ride and park: the Octagon, George Street and the University

Flamingo’s app colours its zones: orange for low speed, yellow for no parking, red for no riding. Flamingo runs 24 hours a day.

The Octagon. The city’s central square has a marked Flamingo spot. A stretch of Moray Place, the street that rings the centre, and the Moray Place car park are no-parking zones.

George Street. The main shopping street is a 15 km/h slow zone from about Moray Place to London Street, with marked spots at its corners with St Andrew, Hanover and London streets. The Meridian Mall is a no-ride zone.

Buses and trains. Flamingo also slows scooters to 15 km/h at the Bus Hub, and has marked spots at the bus terminal and by the train station. The Dunedin Railway Station and the Steamer Basin are no-parking zones.

University of Otago. The university treats e-scooters like bicycles: all riders must dismount on the central Dunedin campus, and scooters can’t be taken into buildings or charged on campus. Flamingo’s no-ride zones cover the heart of the campus, around the Clocktower and the Union lawn, and other University blocks, and you can’t end a ride in any of them. Its marked spots are at the North Entrance, the Information Services Building and Unipol.

Staff and students can borrow a bike helmet free at the Marsh Study Centre, the Staff Club, Te Mātiti Café, Unipol and the Visitors’ Centre.

The Botanic Garden and the Town Belt. The Dunedin Botanic Garden, a stretch of the Town Belt and part of Queens Drive are no-ride zones, and the banks of the Water of Leith are no-parking.

Parking. Leave the scooter at the side of the footpath, ideally by street furniture, clear of the walkway and entrances, and take the end-of-ride photo.

Hills, beaches and the harbour: Baldwin Street, St Clair, Port Chalmers

Baldwin Street, in North East Valley, is a Flamingo no-ride zone. Elsewhere, Dunedin’s hills are steep: Flamingo asks riders to take care and keep a safe speed going downhill, and to take extra care on wet or icy surfaces. It may pause the service when winter conditions are severe.

St Clair and St Kilda. Flamingo has marked spots at St Clair, St Clair Beach and St Kilda Beach. Second Beach, past the St Clair pool, the Ocean Beach Domain and Tomahawk Beach are no-ride zones, and John Wilson Ocean Drive is no-parking.

Port Chalmers. You can ride the harbour cycleway out to Port Chalmers, but Flamingo bars parking along it: end your ride at the marked spot in Port Chalmers.

The Otago Peninsula. Flamingo bars parking along Portobello Road as far as about Macandrew Bay, and has no marked spot on the Peninsula: check the service area in the app before you head for Portobello.

South-west. Green Island and Fairfield have marked spots, but the motorway sections of State Highway 1 are no-ride zones, so take the local roads.

Orbus buses and Forsyth Barr Stadium

Orbus. The Otago Regional Council’s buses take scooters carried on by hand, folded where possible; one that doesn’t fold is at the driver’s discretion. Mobility and motorised scooters aren’t allowed, so ask the driver before you bring your own e-scooter aboard. A shared Flamingo stays outside: end your ride before you board.

Forsyth Barr Stadium. The stadium’s conditions of entry set no scooter rule. Logan Park, beside it, is a Flamingo no-ride zone. The nearest marked spot is at Unipol, next to the stadium.

Did you know?

• Baldwin Street is the world’s steepest street again. Guinness World Records reinstated it on 8 April 2020, measuring a gradient of 34.8% against 28.6% for Ffordd Pen Llech in Wales, which had held the title since June 2019.
• Lime put Dunedin’s first 300 shared e-scooters on the streets on 10 January 2019. By June 2021 more than 90,000 users had taken over 750,000 trips, the Otago Daily Times reported.
• Six weeks after launch, Lime pulled its scooters off Dunedin’s streets for a time over a brake fault that locked wheels: Lime reported 12 incidents in the city, three with injuries.
• Neuron’s riders travelled close to 690,000 km in Dunedin between February 2021 and June 2024, Neuron said.