High-tech scooters whirring past gold rush-era buildings have become a daily sight in the wide main street of Ballarat in regional Victoria. 

A year-long trial of e-scooters has changed the streetscape and road dynamics in the regional Victorian centre with the aim of informing an overhaul of legislation governing the vehicles. 

Unlike Brisbane, which legalised private and rental e-scooters three years ago, the Victorian government has only legalised rental scooters from company Neuron Mobility in Ballarat, and both Lime and Neuron in four Melbourne council areas. 

The trial, which started in late 2021, is set to finish in March this year with preliminary data proving their popularity. 

Regional manager of Neuron Yusuf Abdulahi said many riders in the trial were using them as a convenient means to shop locally. 

"We're seeing the e-scooters are being used to replace short-distance car trips, 63 per cent of riders surveyed say they're replacing short car trips, much higher than the national average of 43 per cent," he said. 

He said the vehicles had a broad appeal across age groups. 

"We've got our highest usage among our 18 to 34-year-olds, who make up roughly 46 per cent of riders, followed by the 35 to 50-year-old age bracket making up 42 per cent, and the remaining 12 per cent are over 55, so a very universal, widespread appeal," he said. 

City of Ballarat Council Mayor Des Hudson said the trial had largely been a success in the regional centre and had eased parking competition. 

But he said some improvements could be made to the scheme.

"Sometimes when people have ridden them to their destination and left them on the side of the road or on the nature strip, my only feedback would be a bit prompter collection and gathering by Neuron to bring them back to their starting place," Mr Hudson said.

In a statement, a Department of Transport spokesperson said the trial was extended to give a decision-making panel more time to develop its recommendations. 

"We've extended the e-scooter trials across Melbourne, Yarra, Port Philip, and Ballarat councils to make sure we have the best possible data to make an informed decision about the future of e-scooters on Victorian roads," they said. 

Holes in legislation

RMIT University director of urban research Jago Dodson said the trial provided a timely opportunity for the government to address two current issues with legislation. 

"Their legal status and their insurance status in terms of people who've been injured by scooter riders finding that, because of the particular legal structures, there's no legal recourse for people who've been injured by a scooter user," he said. 

Professor Dodson said while conducting the trial with rental scooters had allowed a greater degree of quality control, it was not a sensible long-term policy outcome. 

"It doesn't make a lot of sense, from a legal point of view, to say that a user of a scooter from one of these rental schemes is legal, whereas someone who purchases their own scooter is not legal," he said. 

But he said many critics of the safety of the scooters on roads were selectively blind to the widely accepted dangers of cars. 

"We shouldn't let scooters be the focus of complaint and opprobrium when other modes like the automobile are very problematic already."