NSW is set to legalise e-scooters for commuters travelling to work in a bid to cut down on road congestion.
The ‘E-micromobility action plan’, which was released ahead of a parliamentary inquiry into electric scooters and bikes, is pushing to legalise and regulate the devices.
Buying an e-scooter in store is currently legal, but using it on NSW streets and roads is illegal.
Despite the current laws banning e-scooters on NSW roads, there are an estimated 459,000 private e-scooters in the state.
Meanwhile, shared e-scooters are also banned. However, the state has allowed trials of the devices in select council areas, including Albury, Kogarah, Forster-Tuncurry and Wollongong.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen is pushing the bold plan which would see e-bikes and e-scooters, including shared hire scooters, become legal for commuters riding to and from railway and Metro stations.
Under the proposed plan, e-scooter riders must be aged 16 years and over, are legally required to wear a helmet and must ride in designated bike paths or shared zones.
It also suggested investing in e-scooter infrastructure by creating shared paths and parking bays for riders and highlighted the need for police enforcement.
Transport NSW is pushing to legalise and regulate e-scooters and e-bikes, including shared hire scooters, in a bid to cut down on road congestion
Transport for NSW said the plan ‘recognises the potential for e-micromobility to be a safe, sustainable and accessible transport option for the people of NSW’.
The department added e-scooters will also help connect and move people between public transport and would be a ‘viable and efficient option for last-mile freight’.
Ms Haylen explained the primary motivation is to regulate the use of private e-scooters but added the government would also work with councils wanting shared e-scooters.
She added legalising and regulating e-scooters would be a ‘win for everyone’ as it would take pressure of the state’s congested roads.
‘Allowing people to ride an e-scooter to the shops or nearby train stations will take pressure off our roads and lessen competition for parking,’ Ms Haylen told the Daily Telegraph.
‘We just have a bit more work to do to get the balance right.’
Ms Haylen said e-scooters and e-bikes needed new regulations as the devices are not ‘without controversy’, with the report highlighting ‘safety concerns’.
Concerns included speeding, using footpaths, riding using an e-scooter while drunk and riding near and around vulnerable pedestrians.
Police received 124 reports of e-scooter crashes in the three years between 2020 and 2023, which resulted in three deaths and 116 injuries – 40 of which were serious.
Pedestrian Council of Australia CEO Harold Scruby labelled the uptake in private e-scooter and e-bikes as ‘pure anarchy’.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen is behind the push to legalise e-scooters and claimed it would be a ‘big win for everyone’
In his submission to the parliamentary inquiry into e-scooters and e-bikes, the pedestrian advocate said the devices would turn footpaths into a ‘hostile’ environment.
‘To show such utter contempt for pedestrians and turn footpaths into hostile and potentially lethal environments defies belief,’ Mr Scruby said in his submission.
‘If not properly addressed, the proliferation of e-rideables could lead to a safety crisis akin to a public health pandemic’.
The move to legalise e-scooters in NSW comes after Melbourne’s city council banned them in August.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece filed an amended motion at a Future Melbourne committee meeting, which called for the contracts of e-scooter providers including Lime and Neuron to be cancelled.
The termination of the contracts did not impact private e-scooters, which are still allowed in the CBD and neighbouring Carlton and Southbank.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk