Adelaide City Council gives support to a e-scooter trial in the city

The prospect of electric scooters hitting the Adelaide city streets and footpaths has taken a big step forward after the capital city council gave its support to a trial of the rapid-growing technology during the upcoming festival season.

Lime Scooters in use in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens. Picture: AAP/David Clark

The prospect of electric scooters hitting the Adelaide city streets and footpaths has taken a big step forward after the capital city council gave its support to a trial of the rapid-growing technology during the upcoming festival season.

The biggest operator in this space, San Francisco-based Lime, will on Wednesday unveil its plans to make Adelaide’s movement “greener, cheaper and more accessible”.

The Department of Transport and Infrastructure has been looking at options to legalise e-scooters, which can travel up to 25km/h.

Singaporean start-up Beam Mobility Solutions was in town last week talking to the council and state government about its plans.

Adelaide City Council gave its support for legalisation of e-scooters. Picture: AAP/David Clark

It is set to be a lot easier for them to set up shop after council members gave their support for chief executive Mark Goldstone to develop a temporary permit for up to two e-scooter share program operators to facilitate a trial in the city if the State Government themselves grants a temporary exemption from the current prohibition.

Cr Alex Hyde, who lodged the proposal, said it was an opportunity for Adelaide to be one of the first in the country to get behind the rapidly popular technology.

“In this day and age people are savvy enough to grasp technology like this,” he said.

“This could be a very good opportunity to test this during the festival season.”

E-scooters can have their top speed limited and also have GPS tracking.

But concerns have been raised about the safety of them.

The National Transport Commission is still investigating how they can be safely used in Australia, and doesn’t plan to release its discussion paper until next month.