Sydney City Councils that have refused to take part in an electric scooter trial have been accused of missing out on making the city more accessible as more details are revealed about what motorists can and cannot do.
Key points:
- NSW will begin testing e-scooter shared schemes later this month
- The City of Sydney and the Inner West Council have voted against being part of the trial
- Electric scooters will be banned from the trails during testing
NSW is the latest state in Australia to launch a shared electronic scooter scheme with the first test set to begin later this month.
But residents and visitors to the CBD and suburbs of the city like Newtown will have to wait even longer after the city of Sydney and the Inner West Council avoided the state government’s trial.
The government called in April for expressions of interest from city councils to be part of a trial.
Parramatta, North Sydney and Wollongong were some of the municipalities that responded to the call.
The locations of the trials, which are expected to last 12 months, have not yet been announced.
Richard Buning, a senior professor at the University of Queensland School of Business, said the trial would be very limited without the city center involved.
“It’s really amazing that the country’s tourism summit is missing out on this opportunity,” Dr. Buning said.
NSW will soon be testing a shared electronic scooter scheme. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
Dr. Buning, who has researched how tourists use electronic scooters, said visitors found them an easy and comfortable way to explore a new city.
“Tourists don’t like public transport, they find it quite confusing, especially bus systems … it’s quite difficult, while the technology with electronic scooters is very easy,” he said.
“Just get up, use an app and pay on the phone.”
He said it was especially useful in working time.
“In Brisbane, it’s absolutely the fastest way to get around the city during rush hour travel,” he said.
“If you’re trying to go from one urban area to another, it’s much more efficient.”
Prohibited trails
Privately owned electronic scooters are illegal in NSW and will not be part of the test due to safety concerns.
Unlike other cities, people who rent electronic scooters in NSW will not be able to drive on roads during the test.
Cities where e-scooters have been launched have experienced a dramatic increase in e-scooter injuries.
A 70-year-old woman was taken to hospital last week with her bones broken after a collision with an electric scooter on a road that was captured by CCTV.
According to Transport for NSW documents, the trial will restrict rented scooters to 20 miles per hour on bike lanes and roads that have a speed limit of up to 50 miles per hour.
The speed limit for the electric scooter will be 10 kilometers per hour on shared roads.
Scooters may not be used between midnight and 5 am, unless an exemption is granted, while the minimum age for motorcyclists will be 16 years.
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In a statement, Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said she was “excited” by the potential role of scooters, especially for “last mile” journeys, such as going from the train station to the office, or for tourists “.
However, the council has wanted to wait for the results of the trial before favoring its use.
“Due to the high levels of road congestion in the city center, the disputed space and the disconnections to the bicycle network, the city considers the CBD not the best place for this test,” the statement says.
“Instead of testing the electronic scooters at the busy CBD, the city will monitor the progress of the tests elsewhere in order to participate when conditions improve.”
The Inner West Council also confirmed that it would not participate in the trial, but did not comment further on its reasons.
Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes said in April that safety regulations would be a key focus.
“The NSW government will focus on ensuring that scooter regulations are reasonable and appropriate for NSW, safety is paramount when it comes to e-scooter users and those around them,” he said.
Madison Bland, an active transportation researcher at Griffith University’s City Research Institute, told ABC Radio Sydney that electronic scooters had been a “big hit” since they became available in Brisbane in 2018.
“For the most part, people have taken them in a positive way,” he said.
Bland acknowledged safety issues, especially for people with disabilities, but said the accident rate compared to its use was “remarkably low.”
A Transport for NSW spokesman said the government was about to start some trials this month.
“Transport for NSW will continue to keep the advice and community up to date once the details are finalized,” the spokesman said.