Major Changes to Micromobility Conference & Expo for 2023
Sydney, NSW
Major changes have been announced for the Micromobility Conference & Expo, after the inaugural event was held at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse last November.
The 2022 event was a collaboration between Bicycle Lane P/L, which owned and ran the Micromobility Conference, and Interpoint Events P/L, which owned and ran the Micromobility Expo.
Interpoint Events recently made the following announcement:
“Australia’s first Micromobility Expo was held in November 2022 in Sydney and attracted more than 40 exhibitors and over 1,000 attendees over two days.
“The interest from exhibitors was strong and the support of Transport for NSW showed government was exploring options for sustainable accessible transport. Displays ranged from e-bikes, cargo bikes and e-scooters through to locking mechanisms and data gathering technologies.
“Reports indicated exhibitors had good conversations with local government authorities and transport planners, however the event didn’t capture the imagination of consumers.
“According to Simon Cooper, Managing Director of Interpoint Events, “The expo is a little ahead of its time”.
“Until NSW legislation changes and catches up with other States and implements e-bike & e-scooter sharing schemes, and more bike infrastructure is put in place, adoption of micro urban transport systems will not happen.
Cooper said: “E-Bikes make sense. They reduce traffic congestion, reduce pollution and are a sustainable form of transport. Australia has a car culture, but as we see more and more interest in e-vehicles, we believe micromobility transport options are here to stay. We are waiting on the results of the NSW election and the outcome of e-sharing schemes being trialled in Sydney. The conference will take place later this year and the expo will move to a biennial event, with the next show being held in 2024.”
“Cooper did add that Interpoint have received interest to organise the event in Canberra and Victoria, but that at present the NSW government were keen to see it stay in Sydney.”
Micromobility Conference Continuing as Planned for 2023
Phil Latz, founder of Bicycle Lane which is both the publisher of Micromobility Report and The Latz Report and owner of the Micromobility Conference, responded to Interpoint’s announcement.
“I’d like to begin by thanking the Interpoint Events team and in particular Simon Cooper and Claire Graham for all their pioneering work in launching the Micromobility Expo in 2022. We’re disappointed that the Expo won’t be held in 2023 but welcome its planned return in 2024.
“I’d also like to confirm that the Micromobility Conference, which enjoyed a very successful first event last year, will definitely be returning this year.
“Because the Micromobility Conference will be a standalone event in 2023, rather than being run in conjunction with a public-facing expo, we will now be reviewing certain aspects of the conference and modifying some of the details.
“For example, there is no need to stick to last year’s more public-orientated Friday/Saturday dates and we expect to move to mid-week dates that better suit our core delegate audience of government and industry professionals.
“We’ll also move to a ‘Confex’ model for 2023, meaning there will be a small expo within the conference area that is mainly visited during conference breaks and is designed to allow more in-depth interaction with conference delegates.
“We’ll be making further exciting announcements over the coming months.”
Very interesting and valuable evaluation. Deeper engagement with statutory agencies in the context of say a weekday event would provide greater impact on the delivery of better infrastructure for active mobility systems. Consumers can be encouraged to use local bicycle retailers to get information; maybe this sector could become more attuned to the need of consumers to get really good information, and services such as test rides etc.
Regarding the Sydney orientation: in years past the bicycle industry (under BIA) presented product shows in both Sydney and Melbourne, and usually included a public element. In any case, Melbourne needs to be given attention and support, whether as a conference only event or also including some public engagement. Victoria also needs the boost potential from getting planners and road authorities in the same room for a couple of days.
Consideration might be also be given to programmed engagement with the bicycling advocacy sector and especially the ‘bicycle user group’ resource. At a State level this sector tends to be fragmented and under valued. Eyes and tyres ‘on the streets’ should be playing a more coherent role in achieving better outcomes for active e transport.
Thanks for the chance to comment.
Hi Michael. Thanks for your well considered feedback. All input gratefully received. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s conference.
Thanks for your comments Michael. In specific response to your comments regarding Melbourne, our longer term intention is run the Micromobility Conference in Melbourne, possibly alternating with Sydney so that each city hosts the conference every second year.
We’re also open to holding the Micromobility Conference in other cities, depending upon local interest and support.
However for 2023, with the Micromobility Conference only in its second year, the most logistically pragmatic decision for us is to return to the same venue in Sydney, which is closest to where our team is based.