Badly parked Lime e-scooters posing a trip hazard for the visually impaired have prompted a plea for action in Dunedin.
The call came from Simon Fogarty, a Blind Foundation member, as he addressed city councillors during this week's Dunedin City Council public forum.
Mr Fogarty told the meeting that, as a blind person, Lime e-scooters were ''a pain in the arse - and every other part of the body''.
He was still recovering from a fall about a month ago, caused by tripping over a parked Lime scooter, which left him with a sprained back and shoulders.
At present, some riders were leaving scooters parked in the middle of footpaths, and the devices could be easily knocked over, creating a trip hazard for pedestrians, he said.
More regulations were needed, and quickly, to control the use and parking of such devices in Dunedin, he argued.
Geo-fencing was already used to discourage e-scooter parking inside the University of Otago campus, and a similar approach should be required by the council to force riders to park them in other geo-fenced parts of the city, he said.
''This is Dunedin city. You guys need to come up with the rules for the city,'' he told councillors.
His views were echoed by Chris Ford, of Disabled Persons Assembly Dunedin, who said he did not want to see such transport options banned - just ''fully regulated'' for safety.
He was disappointed by the process followed to date, and said at present the devices still posed a significant risk to people.
Those capable of travelling above a certain speed should be reclassified as vehicles, riders required to wear safety equipment and operators charged a fee by the council, he added.
The council is already considering changes to e-scooter rules in Dunedin as part of a review of its mobile trading bylaw, and both men said they wanted their views to be included in that process.
Council chief executive Sue Bidrose said the council was also in regular discussions with Lime's representatives about the ideas raised by Messrs Fogarty and Ford.