More than half a million rides have been taken using Lime's electric scooter hire scheme in Brisbane, even as concerns persist about injuries and riders not wearing helmets.
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The milestone came after Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk called on the company to "step up to the plate" to make sure it provided enough helmets following dozens of scooter-related injuries since launch.
About 131,000 unique Lime riders have taken 5600 trips every day since they were rolled out on Brisbane's CBD streets on November 16.
The scooters can travel at speeds of up to 27km/h, are hired using an app and don't need to be left at specific docks like CityCycles.
Lime community affairs manager Queensland Nelson Savanh said residents and tourists were starting to consider the scooters to be part of Brisbane's transport infrastructure.
"Brisbane is one of the fastest uptakes Lime has seen globally, so we are not surprised to hit such a large milestone so soon," he said.
Earlier this week, lord mayor Graham Quirk said Lime needed to make sure it was providing enough helmets for riders.
Lime has responded by encouraging riders to make sure they wear the provided helmets and leave them behind with the scooter for the next rider.
"We are continuously distributing helmets with scooters across the city to ensure all riders are able to ride safely," Mr Savanh said.
Bicycle Queensland CEO Anne Savage said tourists and business people were using the scooters to get across the city or to meetings.
"They provide the perfect solution for decongesting Brisbane and freeing up our CBD from future chaos and gridlock," she said.
Initially, Transport and Main Roads wrote to the scooter-sharing company to warn users they would be breaking several laws if they took one of the "illegal" scooters for a spin during a planned trial, with fines of up to $10,444.
However, Transport Minister Mark Bailey later intervened to announce Lime would be offered a temporary exemption during a review of Queensland's laws and regulations.
Those rules include wearing a helmet, not riding on roads in the Brisbane CBD and not doubling-up, with a fine of $130 for anyone caught misbehaving.
In January, Brisbane City Council expanded Lime's trial, allowing it to operate 750 scooters until the end of February.
If the trial is deemed successful, the council will open a process to choose a permanent electric hireablehireable scooter scheme for Brisbane.
Emergency services responded to about 60 scooter-related injuries from November to mid-January, with most caused by people doing the wrong thing, such as speeding, riding without a helmet or drink-riding.
The scooters, which have been rolled out to more than 125 cities worldwide, cost $1 to unlock and 30 cents a minute in Brisbane.
