Scooter company Lime believes it has solved the problem that saw several scooters lock up at high speed, triggering multiple reports of serious injuries from Brisbane scooter riders.
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The electric scooter company was given a deadline last week by Brisbane City Council to fix the problem urgently, or else take the scooters off the streets.
The council reduced Lime's permit to two weeks until March 18, instead of through to mid-year, until the company could prove the problem was solved.
Lime's Queensland community affairs manager Nelson Savanh said the company had developed a series of updates for the firmware and were confident in their success.
"[We] have already rolled out the firmware fixes, which immediately resulted in a material reduction of incidents," he said.
Auckland Council in New Zealand had suspended the scooters' licence several weeks ago after safety concerns, but the scooters were allowed back on the streets this week.
Lime had rolled out its scooters in Auckland last October, a few weeks before they arrived in Brisbane.
The New Zealand Herald reported more than 1300 people claimed e-scooter related injuries with the Accident Compensation Corporation New Zealand since October.
Brisbane deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner said safety was critical.
"Lime has until 18 March to demonstrate they have fixed a reported firmware issue, or their permit will not be extended," he said.
"Safety is paramount and it is council’s expectation that any Brisbane e-scooter schemes are able to operate safely."
Mr Savanh said Lime had not received any complaints of accidents linked to the wheel-locking issue in Brisbane over the past week.
"This issue has affected less than 0.0045 per cent of all Lime rides globally," he said.
"Immediately after learning about this issue, Lime began actively investigating and decommissioned every single scooter that might have been affected by this issue."
Mr Savanh said the final update that Lime believed would permanently fixed the issue had been applied across the world.
"Lime continues to closely monitor the issue and will continue to deploy firmware fixes to ensure there are no additional causes of the malfunction, and to make certain the issue is categorically resolved," he said.
The council has plans to issue a tender for two scooter companies to operate on the streets, with a maximum of 1000 scooters between them for an initial period of 12 months.
"Whether it’s Lime, another operator or someone who’s purchased their own, there is a growing demand for e-scooters in Brisbane and it’s important there is a sensible level of regulation to protect the interests of the community," Cr Schrinner said.
"Any decisions regarding future e-scooter operators will be made through an open and competitive tender process which is planned to be completed by mid-2019.
"This procurement process will be rigorous and will involve developing a plan with each operator to achieve the best outcome for the community."
