Bird Launches its First E-Scooter Share Scheme in Australia
Hervey Bay, Queensland
Fraser Coast residents and visitors will soon be able to rent electric scooters for short trips around Hervey Bay after Fraser Coast Regional Council announced approval on 28th July 2021 of a six-month e-scooter trial.
Councillor Daniel Sanderson said e-scooters were becoming popular as an affordable and environmentally friendly mode of transport with commercial operations now in place in cities such as Bundaberg, Brisbane and Townsville.
“We will also request that Maryborough be included as a possible trial location in the future,” he said. Maryborough, 30 kilometres south of Hervey Bay is the traditional commercial centre within the Council area, which is approximately 260 kilometres north of Brisbane.
“This will be a new business for the Fraser Coast and provide a boost to the local economy as Bird will lease a commercial building and employ five to seven local staff to maintain their fleet of 300 to 400 e-scooters,” Cr Sanderson continued.
“It will provide a new transport option for tourists and residents and may encourage more people to spend more time enjoying our pathways and outdoor spaces.”
The e-scooters which will be ‘geofenced’ within a defined area, will be limited to 25 kilometres per hour in most areas and 10 kilometres per hour in highly populated places.
Council recently started the process to amend local laws to allow the use of e-scooters on local footpaths.
The six-month trial will start once this process is complete and a report will be provided back to Council in early 2022 on the outcomes of the trial.
“We are honoured to partner with Fraser Coast Regional Council in Hervey Bay to offer residents and visitors safe and sustainable transportation that aims to decrease the use of private motor vehicles for visitors and residents,” said Brian Bucella, Senior Vice President of Government Partnerships and Policy at Bird.
“By working together, we will not only help spur a mode shift that is critical for a sustainable future but also create new economic opportunities for the local community.”
Hervey Bay will be one of the first cities in the world to provide riders with the new Bird Three e-scooter. Bird in Hervey Bay will also offer exclusive and specially designed helmets locked on every vehicle for individuals to use during their ride.
The scooters offer ‘Bird Beginner Mode’. This feature offers a gentle acceleration mode that helps riders feel comfortable and build confidence.
There will also be a Community Pricing Program that offers a 50% discount to low-income riders, selected local non-profit and community organisations, veterans and seniors.
Anyone in the community can provide feedback on parking and damaged scooters to the local team helping improve local operations through an in-app feature called Community Mode.
Bird is one of the largest global bike and scooter share operators with systems in approximately 300 cities worldwide.
Hervey Bay has a heavy population of Seniors who are ambulant, moderately ambulant or on mobility scooters or have walking frames/walking aids.
The scooters are parked, dumped or thrown haphazardly across, along and over the beautiful walking paths that are enjoyed by all ages. Mums with prams, cyclists, walkers, runners are all confronted with discarded units blocking full access. These paths are necessary for people to go about their normal business, that is shopping, doctors appointments etc. I have witnessed many times Seniors in mobility scooters who are physically unable to get out of their transport and remove the very heavy scooter off the path. Their only options are to go “off road” or go on the road itself to navigate the obstacle. The scooters are also hard to see at night when lying across the path. We do not need a trip hazard at our age. If there are designated parking places they are not being used successfully. Some ( please note: I have not included each and every rider. A great number of riders are most courteous) riders do not adhere to common-sense safe riding rules and we all risk being barrelled into at speed. The normal bell warning is totally ignored.
What, if any, are your strategies to address this?
The six months is nearly over, can we please get these terrors off our our roads and footpaths!
Hi Ron, thanks for your comment. I’m hopeful that you will be disappointed. The trend both worldwide and in Australia is rapidly growing sales and use of scooters, not less. WA and Tasmania are the two most recent states to legalise them.