Three Lime scooters lie on the footpath outside Otago Polytechnic yesterday. The Dunedin City Council is exploring what it can do to regulate e-scooters, particularly to ensure the safety of pedestrians. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON

E-scooters in Dunedin could be rolling towards regulation.

The mayor and Dunedin city councillors have asked for a report on how e-scooters may be regulated and to prioritise what issues, like pedestrian safety, need to be urgently addressed.

Since Lime launched its e-scooters in Dunedin last month, the council has repeatedly said it has no way of regulating the service.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said the council had sought legal advice and questioned the NZ Transport Agency about what could be done to regulate the scooters in the city.

In the short term, there was little the council could do, but staff were exploring what options were available, particularly to ensure the safety of pedestrians, Mr Cull said.

"People have witnessed them zipping in and out of pedestrians on the pavement and we just think, sooner or later, somebody is going to get seriously hurt."

Regulations could include restrictions on where the scooters could be ridden, if they could be used on footpaths, and if their riders needed helmets.

A new bylaw would take at least six months to get through council, though it was still an option.

"If we were to consider a bylaw, we actually have to show there are problems. So, we have to collect evidence and then have to show there are incidents, which is one reason why it takes time."

The council did not want the scooters banned as it believed they were a positive addition to the city.

"This is not just about Lime. There are going to be a number of technologies coming available in the next few years which will be extremely positive.

"We're just frustrated a simple thing like keeping pedestrians safe seems to be beyond our power at the moment."

Mr Cull said he would speak to Wellington Mayor Justin Lester about how the capital was approaching the issue and what tools it used. A report will be presented to a Wellington City Council committee next week recommending the start of a trial up to 18 months long.

Users in Wellington would be heavily restricted about where they could ride. Areas like the city's botanic gardens would be out of bounds as would popular shopping streets such as Lambton Quay, Willis St, Manners St, Courtenay Pl and the Cuba St Mall. - Additional reporting RNZ