There are calls for Wollongong to host an electric scooter trial as the NSW government looks at how it can possibly allow their use in public spaces.
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E-scooters are currently only legal on private land, but Transport for NSW says a 12-month trial will begin later this year to assess how they can be safely used in the community.
A spokesperson for the department said no decision had yet been made on what councils would participate in the trial, but Transport for NSW's deputy secretary for cities and active transport Kiersten Fishburn told budget estimates this week it would involve three to four local government areas, including metropolitan councils and a regional council.
Wollongong City Council put itself forward as a willing trial host in December 2020 when it resolved to write to the government and voice support for the regulation and legalisation of e-scooters.
Wollongong MP Paul Scully said on Tuesday he had written to Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes to consider the city as a trial site.
"We have a supportive community, areas of the city that are poorly serviced by public transport and e-scooters are already on our streets... We are already a bike city and with this trial we could be an e-scooter city too - embracing and testing the technology and helping to develop a regulatory structure that protects e-scooter users, road users and pedestrians," Mr Scully said.
People coming to the city for the UCI Road World Championships later this year would put pressure on public transport, he said, and there was evidence from other places in Australia that e-scooters were a good transport option for tourists.
Andrew Larkham, owner of Corrimal electric bicycle store Riding For Life, said Wollongong was the "perfect place" to test out the use of e-scooters.
Mr Larkham said the city already had the infrastructure in place with its cycleways, one of the best coastlines to ride along, and the council had invested heavily in its 2030 cycling strategy.
"They're a great mode of transport to get around, they're lightweight," he said.
Ms Fishburn said the government was looking at trialling private e-scooter use, which would consider such issues as the wattage of scooters, helmet use and where they could be used, but it also wanted to look at shared use schemes.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
