Lime wants to launch in Tauranga as soon as possible.

The electric scooter rental company are in talks with Tauranga City Council about launching in the Bay.

The company, already operating in Auckland and Christchurch, are also eyeing up Wellington.

Lime's New Zealand launcher Hank Rowe said they wanted to launch in Tauranga as soon as they were given a permit.

He said Lime was talking to the council about signing a Memorandum of Understanding similar to that signed with Christchurch City Council.

Lime's New Zealand launcher Hank Rowe addresses a Tauranga City Council meeting. Photo / George Novak

Lime launched in New Zealand on October 15.

They arrived with 700 e-scooters in Christchurch and 1000 in Auckland and have since registered more than 100,000 riders and done 300,000 trips, Rowe said.

The scooters have a maximum speed of about 25km/h.

The scooters caused controversy in Auckland with confusion over the rules for use and injuries.

They followed the frenzy of the dockless bike-share movement that took off in the United States in 2017, with colourful bicycles that could be rented through an app and dropped wherever a trip was completed.

More to come.