The launch of the Lime scooters on the Gold Coast on Friday, which was not approved by council, has sparked a crackdown on all electric scooters with 22 Lime and one I-Ride products being taken by council.

Lime scooters were placed on the Gold Coast on Friday after a trial that launched in Brisbane and a trial of electric bikes in Sydney last month.

A council spokesman said Lime was given two hours to remove the scooters before council took matters into their own hands as the operation was in breach of local laws nine and 11 in relation to public spaces.

"They have to actually get permission from council just like everybody else," he said.

"Their claims of being in contact with council for the past six months is simply not true.

"We received an email on December 3 asking if council would permit their scooters and the answer was no, not until the a study can be undertaken to see how it would affect the future of the Gold Coast.

"Instead of complying, they ignored council, we have taken action and now they are having a hissy fit over it."

The spokesman said council spoke with Lime on Friday afternoon following the warning but the company found a loophole to have them kept on footpaths for longer.

"Yesterday, our transport director said we would act but we would not go out of our way to take scooters from people actively using them until they were stationary," he said.

"Knowing this, Lime were being cheeky and activated them so council couldn't take them because people had hired them and were on their way to collect them.

"Council are not playing games anymore and have started to confiscate any scooters they find unattended.

"Lime needs to understand that you can't just put a business anywhere without approval, there is a process for everything.

"You can't just ignore local laws and try to muscle in and cause carnage on footpaths."

The spokesman said a study, which would take six months, needed to be undertaken and approved by councillors to analyse increased foot traffic and grey areas involving liability with crashes.

"We need to ask local businesses and the community how they feel about it and consider the positive and negatives of the scooters by looking at what is happening in Brisbane and New Zealand before making any decisions," he said.

"For all we know, there may be too much congestion on foot paths and scooters could be adding to the problem instead of helping."

Lime's government affairs director Mitchell Price said they had stopped the scooter operation on the Gold Coast after discussions with council.

"In consultation with council we have decided to temporarily cease operations and request the council ensure the same standard for other operators who have deployed in similar fashions," he said.

"Council has made it explicitly clear that all operators must comply with their request or be subject to impoundment."

Mr Price said they would work with council on smart mobility options for the community.

"The public has demonstrated strong support for an operator which provides a premium and reliable service," he said.

"We will continue to work with council officials, as we have always done, to ensure that Gold Coast residents have access to first and last mile transport options.

"In the coming weeks, we will be holding a number of community focused events to educate residents on Lime’s smart mobility platform."

This comes after Mr Price accused the council of “playing politics with scooters” and "being out of step", refusing to remove any of the scooters while Lime continued to roll them out.

"We'll pay any fines that council decides they want to issue us and we'll put them back out on the streets," he said.