1916: Motorised Scooters
October 16, 2019
By AHNZ
History repeats alright!
In 2018 Auckland has become full of motorised scooters called ‘Lime’ which are for rent. People love to use them to get to work or zip along in a hurry. They are set to a maximum speed of 16.8kph and weight of 136kg. However, I saw three men flying down hill on Symonds Street which would make for at least another 100kg.
One hundred years ago, in 1916, we have what looks like the 11th Doctor demonstrating an ‘Autoped’. This could travel at 40kph (aka 25mph) and probably carry 3 without breaking any rules. This photo comes from Auckland Weekly News of 16 October 1916.
“An American invention, the ‘Autoped’, which can travel up to 25 miles per hour.”- 1916
The Lime scooter, an American invention, “all of the scooter models that Lime uses can reach speeds of up to 25 km/h (16 mph)”- Ref. Wiki (2019)
Around the turn of the century the bicycle speed limit in the city of Wellington was 19kph, Christchurch 13kph. Don’t know about Auckland but things haven’t changed all that much.
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Image ref. Sir George Grey Special Collections; Albert-Eden Local Board, Facebook
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