Parkland Debuts for Cautious NSW Scooter Trails
Western Sydney, NSW
NSW’s introduction to shared e-scooter services has begun cautiously, with four Western Sydney parklands confirmed to host the State’s initial trials.
The first shared trials began last Saturday at the Bungarribee Park, Lizard Log and Shale Hills parklands, as well as The Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan.
NSW Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes said the Government was committed to cautiously trialling the use of e-scooters in safe environments.
“Like any new technology, e-scooters present us with enormous opportunities and several challenges to address before we can permanently permit them on our streets,” Mr Stokes said.
“This is why the NSW Government is committed to trialling them and why our parklands are the perfect location to start ahead of trials across multiple council areas.”
A statement from his office said it was the first of several shared e-scooter trials to roll out across NSW, and councils are now invited to apply to host 12-month trials in their areas.
“We’ve taken our time to get this trial right, which is why we’re not rushing into rolling this trial out to interested council areas immediately,” Mr Stokes said.
“Each shortlisted council will have to meet the requirements of the trial and undergo a safety assessment before being approved.”
Applications from interested councils are open until 30th September 30 this year. Learn more about the NSW E-scooter Shared Scheme Trial.
“The trial parameters have been carefully considered, taking lessons from e-scooter use around the world and across the country to ensure the safest, most practical and effective measures are in place.”
The trial is limited riders 16 years old and over, with the scooters restricted a maximum speed of 20kph on bicycle paths or roads that have a speed limit up to 50kph, and a speed limit of 10kph for shared paths.
E-scooters will not be permitted on footpaths and the use of privately owned e-scooters will remain prohibited.
“We’ve taken our time to get this trial right, which is why we’re not rushing into rolling this trial out to interested council areas immediately,” Mr Stokes said.
“Each shortlisted council will have to meet the requirements of the trial and undergo a safety assessment before being approved.”
Visitors to Western Sydney Parklands and The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan will be able to hire an e-scooter through the provider’s app. The app will provide visitors with a map that shows where the scooters are located to pick up and ride.
Applications to be part of the e-scooter shared scheme trial are open until September 30 this year. Learn more about the NSW E-scooter Shared Scheme Trial.
Beam Launches Saturn 5
Share service provider Beam introduced its new Saturn 5 e-scooter to the Australian market as part of the Shale Hills trial.
“NSW is the first State to see the Beam Saturn 5 fleet, featuring tip-resistant dual kickstands, triple brakes, front suspension, a bluetooth-locked helmet, swappable batteries, voice commands and a new generation IOT featuring high-precision geofencing and increased GPS accuracy,” the company said in a statement.
Riders will be directed to appropriate parking locations through the Beam share scooter app, which displays fixed virtual parking docks.
Beam’s General Manager (ANZ) Tom Cooper said: “We are in conversations with a number of local councils across the State about shared micromobility trials, and look forward to expanding our footprint further in the coming months.”