Mayor Tom Tate has ruled out the introduction of shared e-scooters on the Gold Coast, despite new research suggesting the scheme can reduce congestion and facilitate more spending by tourists.
Key points:
- Griffith University research suggests e-scooters give tourists greater opportunities to spend more while decreasing reliance on cars
- Gold Coast City Council has ruled out a shared e-scooter scheme like that seen in Brisbane
- Transport Academic says the 'benefits outweigh the costs' and infrastructure should accommodate e-scooters
Between December 2020 and February 2021, Griffith University's Cities Research Institute studied the use of Neuron e-scooters in Townsville, among 140 visitors and 80 residents.
The Institute's Matthew Burke said one-third travelled an average of 26 kilometres over 11 trips, spending 42 per cent more per day.
"This could be good for us in a number of ways," Dr Burke said.
"Good for our city image, good for tourist dispersal — getting people around and hopefully getting them to spend more money in what the literature calls 'mom and pop shops'."
While most major Australian cities have implemented shared e-scooters into their transport mix, laws governing their use remain complicated and safety continued to concern councils.
Safety first, says mayor
In 2018, the council confiscated 23 electric scooters off Gold Coast streets after Lime attempted to launch their shared e-scooter service.
"What we don't accept in this city is operators just turning up and essentially plonking their products down on city streets and footpaths," council's transport director Alton Twine said at the time.
Cr Tate said Lime rolled out the e-scooters without council's permission.
"We considered it and we say no," he said.
Laws differ state to state, but in Queensland, e-scooters are only allowed on footpaths where they can travel up to 25 kilometres per hour.
Cr Tate said that presents an unacceptable safety risk.
Between July 2020 and March this year, there were 143 incidents involving shared e-scooters in Brisbane.
Earlier this month Brisbane City Council awarded three-year contracts to Beam and Neuron Mobility to operate 1,000 e-scooters and 400 e-bikes each.
But Cr Tate said the launch of 750 shared e-bikes on the Gold Coast last year has been a safer option.
"If there's any expansion, I'd like it to be expanded further out into the suburbs, go north further."
'Missing links' in infrastructure
Dr Burke said there are some "missing links" in Gold Coast infrastructure that could accommodate more e-scooters, specifically the lack of the Oceanway path along Mermaid Beach.
But the state government has committed part of a $10 million fund towards extending the Oceanway in Mermaid Beach, alongside light rail stage three.
"A growing active transport network is appearing on the Coast and the plan for more green bridges will deliver more of that," Dr Burke said.
He said the average age of e-scooter users in the Townsville study was over 40, half of which were women.
"The evidence is now building that the benefits outweigh the costs, but you have to bring them in, in a good way."
Griffith's Cities Research Institute has suggested e-scooters could help commuters link up with public transport, decreasing their dependence on cars.
Brisbane City Council data showed between 30 and 50 per cent of e-scooter and e-bike trips replaced car trips.