Over 500 e-scooters produced and operated by electric scooter company – Lime – are currently making their way around Adelaide.

The Adelaide City Council initially permitted Lime to hire-out the scooters for the duration of the 2019 Adelaide Fringe, with the trial recently being extended by four weeks.

Their purpose? To help festivalgoers and Fringe staff get to and from venues, quickly, safely and conveniently.

Unlocked and operated through an app, accessing a Lime e-scooter sets you back just $1. After this, your ride costs just 30 cents per minute.

The scooters are intended to operate within Adelaide’s CBD and have now clocked up a whopping 70,000 trips with over 25,000 users.

The e-scooter trial has no-doubt been a hit with the public, with Lime hoping for a further extension to be on the horizon.

But if e-scooters are here to stay, we’re going to have to take them seriously.

“They’re not your average Kmart scooter,” says Lime Public Affairs Manager, William Peters.

“You need to obey all road rules and treat the scooter like a car.”

Normal road rules, in particular those set out in Regulation 30A of the Road Rules – Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions Regulations (directed at riders of electric personal transporters) apply at all times when e-scootering.

Lime specifies that riders must be over 18 and wear an approved helmet. Scooters can travel up to 15km/h when on a footpath.

Any rider found to be drink/drug driving can lose their licence.

RAA Future Mobility Expert Mark Borlace says he can see a future for e-scooters in South Australia, but highlights the need for rider education.

“I can see in the future e-scooters becoming an important part of multi-modal transport in South Australia, providing that people follow the road rules and use common sense,” he says.

“People need to be educated that normal road rules still apply. Breaking the law on an e-scooter is the same as breaking the law in a car.”