As people flocked to the beach for a hot long weekend, many Wollongong locals and visitors were happy to give the new e-scooters a test-run.
Hundreds of orange e-scooters appeared across the city and surrounding suburbs on Friday September 29 for the beginning of the region' s year-long trial.
James Johnston was driving around Wollongong on Sunday searching for a parking spot near the beach when he spotted an e-scooter.
"The good thing with this [e-scooter] is I can just park wherever I feel and I can just use this to get to and from my car and head to the beach," Mr Johnston said.
"Everyone's going to the beach ... and there's going to be no parking."
Wollongong resident Ethan Powell was already familiar with the hiring process as he had used them in Brisbane.
"Any way to reduce car usage is a good thing particularly as it's getting warmer, this might encourage more people to get outside," Mr Powell said.
While Jose Nery and his 15-year-old daughter were visiting from Gordon in the ACT and are already familiar with the e-scooters from Canberra.
There are some issues in the national capital with scooters being dumped in odd locations he said, adding this is why the e-scooters are restricted to certain areas.
"It's pretty helpful if you are tired of walking to where you parked," Mr Nery said.
To try out the e-scooter, just download the app, add a payment method, and scan the QR code on one of the Neuron orange e-scooters.
They can be ridden on local roads that have a speed limit of 50kms or less, bike lanes, and shared paths like the Blue Mile walk.
The scooters are limited to 10kmh on shared pathways, such as the Blue Mile, and 20kmh on bike paths or on a road.
Andrew McLeod enjoyed his first ride but believes "cars won't be happy" about e-scooters being allowed on the roads.
"The nice thing is the speed as well it's not that fast and it has limited speed in this area," Horsley resident Layth Murad said.
Mr Murad rode the e-scooter from Towradgi to the Blue Mile pathway in Wollongong with friends.
His friend Yousef Tomas said speed restrictions along the Blue Mile is good because children are out and about.
Figtree couple Andrew and Petra McLeod got a surprise when they changed from the shared pathway to the road.
"As soon as we got on the road it went quicker, heaps quicker ... so we got back on [to the Blue Mile]," Petra McLeod said.
Each scooter is fitted with a GPS and will send the Neuron company a notification when an e-scooter topples over for staff to retrieve.
Not all are happy with the e-scooters, a concerned Wollongong resident has spotted many people illegally riding the scooters on a footpath.
"I can't see it ending well. I'm concerned that someone is going to get injured," a Wollongong resident said under anonymity.
While the e-scooter company Neuron cares for the e-scooters, the resident is worried about the regulation of people using them inappropriately after witnessing a near-miss on Corrimal St near Market Ste in Wollongong.
"There were two people on that one [scooter] but they were driving," they said.
"People had to jump out of their way off the crossing to let them get through, to let them get past."
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Marlene Even
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
Journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Previously a radio and podcast host at 2SER Radio.
