30: Regulating Micromobility — the Christchurch case study

In this episode, Oliver interviews Nick Lovett (@nicklovettnz), Transport Policy Planner at the Christchurch City Council in New Zealand. Nick runs the scooter trial with Lime, and has recently expanded the programme to Beam (Singapore) and Flamingo (a local competitor). As noted in earlier episodes, Christchurch has been widely praised for his progressive stance embracing micromobility. In this episode, we dig into the wider lessons both entrepreneurs and regulators can take from Christchurch’s example. Specifically, we cover: - The primary things that entrepreneurs need to understand when dealing with regulators - How regulators like Nick are thinking about the rise of business models like Lime and the new leading programme from Bird - The challenges with having cities adapt quickly to new transport modes, and what entrepreneurs need to watch out for. - What regulators are balancing while seeking to embrace micromobility in their cities.