Posts by Phil Latz
E-Scooter Racing World Circuit Gathers Momentum
Not many people would wish to hit speeds in excess of 100kph on a transport device with no roll cage, completely open to the elements and riding on 16 centimetre wheels travelling just a few centimetres off the ground. This is, however, what anyone taking a trip on an eSkootr S1X racing e-scooter can look forward to.
The eSkootr S1X has been created for the planned eSkootr Championship (eSC) which will start towards the end of the year. The races will be conducted on specially built circuits – concrete seams and cracks in pavement would not do at these speeds on a ride with such tiny wheels – in city parks, streets or within stadiums.
Hobart Reduces CBD Speed Limits
Effective from Monday 1st February 2021, Hobart has become the latest Australian city to lower its speed limits on central city streets.
As you can see from the map accompanying this article for all but two roads the speed limit has been reduced from 50 kph to 40kph. The small roads shown in grey were already 40 kph.
Critical Missing Link Approved for New Zealand’s Capital
New Zealand’s national capital of Wellington has a greater urban area population of 429,700 in 2020, but due to its extremely hilly terrain and limited land, being surrounded by ocean on three sides, only half of these people, 215,100 to be exact, live in the city of Wellington itself.
The other half live in nearby urban areas including Lower Hutt and Porirua.
Also due to this extremely rugged terrain, a single four lane motorway is the only main road that links Wellington to the rest of New Zealand.
Currently there is no separated cycle route along this main road, that has been built on a narrow strip of in some places reclaimed land, wedged between the mountains and the sea. The only space for cyclists is the shoulder of what is an extremely busy high speed road.
NSW Abandons E-scooter Trial – Minister ‘Not in the Mood’
The NSW government has abandoned plans for an electric scooter trial in Sydney despite a national push to legalise the mobility devices.
Electric scooters are illegal on roads and footpaths in NSW, but sales continue to grow.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance says he was “not in the mood” to have e-scooters on Sydney streets, even though his department ran a lengthy process recommending conditions for holding a trial.
Paris is Re-Proving ‘Build it and They Will Come!’
Cycling advocates around the world know that if they can overcome entrenched resistance and actually get protected facilities installed, the riders will come.
Now a recent study by the Paris city government has found that new cyclists account for almost six in ten users of pop-up cycle lanes in Paris, installed first in response to a public transport strike last winter with the network subsequently enlarged due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The study also revealed that prior to the pop-up bike lanes being put in place, women made up 36 per cent of cyclists in Paris, which has now risen to 41 per cent.
Ebikes Focus of The Conversation Hour
The Conversation Hour is a Victorian based interview and talkback program on ABC Radio. Hosts Richelle Hunt and Warwick Long recently devoted an entire episode to the growing popularity of ebikes.
Richelle opened the program by declaring that she and her family, who were definitely not ‘hard core’ cyclists, were considering buying an ebike instead of a second car.
The program included calls from various members of the public plus experts from the Australian Electric Vehicle Association and Victoria Walks and Peter Bourke from Bicycle Industries Australia and We Ride Australia.
Lime to Invest $64 Million Into Ebike Share as it Eyes Float
Market leading Lime is getting back to its roots. The scooter company formerly known as LimeBike announced in late February 2021 that it will invest US$50 million (A$64 million) to grow its shared electric bicycle network, including adding a new model of bike and doubling the number of cities in which it operates.
Lime got its start with shared bikes, only to quickly pivot after Bird first introduced the concept of dockless electric scooters in 2017. The company dropped the ‘bike’ from its name and started phasing out its bikes in 2019. But the following year, Lime acquired bike-share company Jump from Uber, and suddenly, bikes were back on the menu.
What a Difference a Decade Makes!
Toronto is the largest city in Canada with a greater urban area population of over five million. Rob Ford was Mayor of Toronto from December 2010 to 2014. During this time he was one of the most vehement and outspoken opponents of cycling in any major city in the western world.
Ford spoke out against cyclists sharing roads with motorists, which he said were, “…built for buses, cars, and trucks, not for people on bikes.” As councillor, Ford opposed the installation of bike lanes on University Avenue and Jarvis Street.
German Climate Package Earmarks $1.38 Billion for Cycling
Germany’s federal government has announced that will be investing 900 million Euro (A$1.38 billion) into cycling as part of its national climate protection programme. The largest portion will be funded through a €660 million (A$1 billion) ‘City and Country-side’ (‘Stadt und Land’) program, which was officially published on 25 January by the Federal Ministry of Transportation. The investments in both urban and rural infrastructure are intended to help unleash the potential of cycling for climate-friendly transportation across the country.
Major Scooter Companies Launch Industry Coalition
E-scooter operators have come together to form a new coalition, Micromobility for Europe (MMfE), which launched officially on 2nd February 2021.
Comprised of eight founding members, Bird, Bolt, Dott, FreeNow, Lime, Tier, Voi, and Wind, the coalition aims to contribute to the development of a coherent policy framework in Europe that will ensure micromobility solutions flourish in European cities and support the rapid transition to zero-emission urban mobility.