Even our footpaths are no longer safe, thanks to reckless scooter-riders.
As I stepped out of one of my favourite Auckland eateries, there was a whirr and a blur of green in front of my face. A bloody Lime scooter missed me by centimetres and was weaving its way at a fast clip through a small herd of stampeding pedestrians. Yes, I know, I am a curmudgeon who resents the freedom and fun for young folk who use the scooters to whizz around the city.
For those readers whose town or city does not have a Lime scooter fleet (you lucky buggers), I should explain that they are for hire in Auckland and Christchurch, running on electric motors up to speeds of 24km/h, and are generally found when you trip over one lying on the footpath.
The scooters are GPS-tracked and, presumably, at some point a bloke in a truck comes around to pick them up for recharging, before dumping them back on the footpath in handy locations.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 12-18, 2019-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 12-18, 2019-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
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First-world problem
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Nazism rears its head
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Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
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The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.