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A Queensland council says it feels powerless to ban shared electronic scooters from zooming down its city footpaths due to a loophole allowing big companies team up with local businesses.
Key points:
- An e-scooter company has exploited a loophole to bring the shared-hire vehicles to Cairns despite opposition from the local council
- Beam teamed up with local businesses to base the scooters on private land by-passing the need for council approval
- Cairns Mayor Bob Manning says the company has "ridden in to town under the cover of darkness"
The Cairns Regional Council had refused several requests from e-scooter companies to work in the tropical city, but that hasn't stopped Queensland's largest operator, Beam, from moving in, despite council opposition.
The shared scooter company has teamed up with more than a dozen tourism businesses, including one of the city's largest hotels, by-passing the need for council approval because the 150 scooters are housed on private land.
Cairns Regional Council Mayor Bob Manning said the company — which allows travellers to hire a scooter, ride to their destination, and leave it in a designated area — had "ridden in to town under cover of darkness".
"It is a pity, to come in this way," Cr Manning said.
"We have held a fairly firm line on this.
"There is the fear of accidents and deaths, and in the areas like the dining precinct on the Esplanade and being on footpaths, this will present problems.
"There are concerns for young people and older people … people who have had a few beers don't always act responsibly.
"If they come on to our land we have the power to enforce the rules, but if they're operating on private property, it limits our authority."
Last year, Beam scooters started operating in Port Douglas, following in the footsteps of other Queensland councils including Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to allow e-scooters on their streets.
The Cairns Regional Council rejected an application by Lime scooters in 2019 as well as a trial, citing safety concerns, particularly on footpaths.
Cr Manning said he intended to raise the issue of the introduction of shared e-scooters, without council approval, with the Local Government Association of Queensland.
"This is not over yet," he said.
The Toowoomba Regional Council also recently voted to not proceed to an e-scooter trial and will review the matter next year.
E-scooters a 'huge economic driver' for city
Beam's head of business development Adam Rossetto was in Cairns to launch the bright, purple scooters, following "18 months of solid engagement" with business and tourism groups.
He said while the issue of shared e-scooters could be "divisive", the response in nearby Port Douglas had been "tremendous".
"We've seen 50,000 trips completed in the last 12 months and we've had great feedback in regards to riders obeying those rules," Mr Rosetto said.
"Forty-eight per cent of our users said that if Beam had not been available, they would have taken a car and that is extraordinary, because we're helping to reduce congestion."
Mr Rosetto said he was expecting the company's foray into Cairns to be equally successful.
"This has not been a quick overnight launch, we've had broad support across the sector," he said.
"This is a service that's going to drive economic and sustainability benefits into the city."
He said the company would use geo-fencing, which restricts the use of their scooters in heavily-populated areas, including the Cairns lagoon, as well as restrict speed in certain areas on the Cairns Esplanade.
Mr Rosetto said riders were also charged per minute, and an $18 fee charged to a user's credit card, if scooters weren't returned.
New laws in place
Last month, Queensland began enforcing its e-scooter rule changes.
The new laws include a 12 kilometre-per-hour speed limit on footpaths and shared paths and 25 kilometre-per hour limit for all other bike paths and roads.
Fines have also been increased to $1,078 for dangerous offences involving speed, illegal road use and holding a mobile phone while riding.
The changes came as doctors reported seeing an increase in e-scooter accidents, with nearly 1,000 emergency department presentations in central Brisbane from November 2018 to May 2021 and 10 deaths across the state.
Users between 12 and 16 years of age must still ride a device with adult supervision.
It is illegal for under-12s to ride a personal mobility device on Queensland roads.