New Table Gives Comprehensive Overview of Bike and Scooter Status Australia-wide

Brisbane, Qld

We developed a table of shared micromobility services in major Australian cities in February 2021, and the Micromobility Report followed up with an update five months later to reflect the changes.

Three years on, we were invited to revisit our initial table, and this is our latest update. In 2024, shared micromobility is still gaining traction and expanding across Australia. It is safe to say that micromobility has become a permanent fixture in most cities and regional towns across all Australian states and territories, providing an alternative mode of transport to cars and supporting first or last-mile trips to public transport.

This table focuses on broader sharing schemes. The once large fleets of Council-operated docked bicycle schemes are mostly retired. While not shown in our table for brevity, there are also e-bike or e-scooter rental or sharing at resorts or residential communities, such as the Ginninderry docked e-bike sharing scheme in Canberra. The ‘electric bicycle library’ supported by the ACT government also offer alternative ways to share micromobility devices in communities.

However, the speed limits, where permitted, and the use of privately owned e-scooters remain different across jurisdictions. NSW remains a holdout, but a major inquiry has just been established to inquire into and report on the use of e-scooters, e-bikes and related mobility options. This may pave the way for formal recognition of micromobility as a legal mode in the NSW.

The implications of both shared and private personal mobility devices are being closely monitored by researchers and transport policymakers. Nevertheless, a knowledge gap remains regarding how best to regulate this emerging mode while ensuring it is safe, equitable and sustainable. Micromobility research should also look beyond commuting travel and focus on its applications in tourism and events travel.

*Dr Abraham Leung is the Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute – Transport Research Group, Griffith Institute for Tourism, at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland.

Click on the image below to view full table:

References:

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