Wollongong would be the ideal place to trial the legalisation of electric scooters and skateboards, according to one city councillor, because of its mix of city, suburban and rural streets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Currently in NSW these vehicles are able to be sold for use on private land, but it's illegal for them to be ridden anywhere on public roads or footpaths.
Liberal councillor Cameron Walters will present a notice of motion on the vehicles next week, using councillors to voice their support for better use and uptake of personal electric transport such as electric bicycles - which are legal - in the City of Wollongong.
He will also acknowledge that there is already "widespread" use of electric scooters and skateboards in public places in Wollongong, despite them being illegal, and suggest that the city puts its hand up to take part in any NSW government trial of their legal use.
"We already see the use of them widely in many places across the LGA, so to legalise them would put a framework around them to make it more safe to ride," Cr Walters said.
"As it is now, we see some people on much larger wattage than what would be legal - so there's vehicles out there that can do up to 60km/h, when they should be doing 25 or 30km/h.
"Because it's unregulated, you also have people selling them online and they might not meet certain safety standards."
He said Wollongong would be ideal as a NSW trial location, as it did not have as much traffic and population as Sydney council areas.
"I'd love to see these being used in the CBD where there's a lot of people that don't own cars," he said.
Isaac Wilson, who owns Wilson's Bike Hub in Warrawong and Dapto, said he had customers who were interested in using the e-vehicles for everyday use.
"The sooner we regulate such devices like e-scooters, the safer it will be for the community and users, as there can be a framework in place everyone can follow," he said.
The NSW government has made some moves towards legalising e-scooters, receiving a report in March which outline how a trial could work.
In October, the ACT rolled out a new legal e-scooter scheme in certain parts of Canberra, with two private operators hiring out up to 1500 vehicles.
The roll-out came with strict rules - including maximum speed limits enforced by geofencing technology, which also blocks the e-scooters from prohibited areas by immobilising the scooter once a user rides out of a permitted zone.
Users of the vehicles must be over 18 and always wear the helmets which are hired alongside them.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
