Scooter firm demands review after council chooses other companies to operate in Adelaide

A company operating an e-scooter trial in Adelaide claims it's been snubbed by the City Council after its application to keep operating e-scooters in the CBD was rejected.

Rival companies Beam and Ride have both been granted six month permits following the expression of interest process.

But Lime's bid was unsuccessful - despite being the first company to trial the e-scooters in Adelaide.

It's demanding an independent review of the selection process

"(It's) really disappointing, there will be 250 people losing their job midnight Sunday," Mitchell Price from Lime said.

More than 41,000 riders and 144,000 rides have been registered since Lime started operating in February.

"We know our scooters are safe, we know our scooters are premium and we know our service is what the people want and it's unfortunate that this decision has been made," Mr. Price told 9NEWS.

The Council admits the trial was successful, but says it was an open process.

"We did on the ground testing and Ride and beam's scooters were of a superior quality," Beth Davidson-Park of the City Council said.

Lime has since written to Council, requesting the decision be reviewed.

"I'm calling on the CEO to conduct an independent review of this process immediately and that no scooters are on the streets of Adelaide until this has been handed to the elected council," Mr. Price said.

The Council says that won't be happening.

"(We're) confident in the integrity of the process and won't be initiating a review into the process," Ms. Davidson-Park said.

Lime will now need to remove all scooters from the CBD streets to make way for Ride and Beam - both companies start operating on Monday.