A trial of e-scooters is being brought forward as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to improving access to active transport in a major announcement made today at the state’s first Mobility Summit.
Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes said the NSW Government is working towards seeing shared e-scooters on our streets from July, with interested councils invited to submit an expression of interest to take part.
“E-scooters are an affordable, convenient and sustainable method of moving about and it’s important we harness that and recognise their increasing popularity around the world in a safe way,” Mr Stokes said.
“The NSW Government will be focused on ensuring that e-scooter regulations are sensible and appropriate for NSW, safety is paramount when it comes to e-scooter users and those around them.
“The benefits of e-scooters aren’t limited to inner-city areas with the regional Victorian town of Ballarat recording more than 40,000 e-scooter trips in the first month of a similar trial.
“While the trial will be confined to share schemes to start with, we are actively looking forward to a time when private e-scooters will also be a part of the active transport fabric, and am working to ensure only safe e-scooters are stocked and sold and legally used on our streets in time for Christmas.”
Regulations will be made public in coming weeks with geo-fencing technology to be utilised to control speeds and where the devices are parked to minimise visual clutter.
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