Adelaide City Council seeks changes to laws prohibiting public use of personal e-scooters
Owners of personal e-scooters may not realise it but they are breaking the law riding on public roads and footpaths. One council is asking for the laws to be changed.
SA News
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Adelaide City Council has been warned moves to allow privately owned e-scooters to be used in public could damage the viability of commercial operators and increase the risk of injury to other road users.
Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor has written to the State Government seeking a review of legislation controlling the use of the increasingly popular devices.
Elected members voted to seek the review after councillor Simon Hou asked why personal e-scooters were illegal in public while companies such as Beam and Neuron could operate within the CBD.
A staff report said commercial e-scooters were able to be ridden because exemptions had been granted for them to operate within geographical boundaries with a maximum speed of 15km/h.
Personal e-scooters, however, were prohibited because there were no national guidelines or laws governing their use on public footpaths and roads.
The report warned that, if personal e-scooters were allowed to operate in SA, this could impact on the viability of “shared e-scooter operations in Adelaide”.
“It may result in the reduction in operation and subsequently income to the city resulting from the e-scooter permits,” it said.
The report said there were a “number of barriers that currently prevent the State Government from allowing private e-scooter usage on public land”, including:
THE inability to limit e-scooter speeds, with some capable of reaching more than 100km/h.
NO insurance company within Australia offered coverage for private e-scooters.
THERE was little control over where they could be ridden, creating “significant risks to other road users”.
The report said the National Transport Commission was working on guidelines for private e-scooters following widespread consultation late last year.
“Recommendations from this engagement are anticipated to shortly be presented to federal ministers with the expectation that this will inform the future of e-scooters and similar devices in Australia,” it said.
Ms Verschoor said the introduction of e-scooters into the CBD had been “a great addition”.
Ms Verschoor said the scooters were “giving people another transport option that’s convenient, fun and good for the environment”.
“Integrating transport services is key to improving accessibility and, as a city, we’re constantly looking at ways to improve our transport network,” she said.
Ms Verschoor said she would ask Transport Minister Corey Wingard to review the use of personal e-scooters in SA.
“I’ll also ask the Minister to look at allowing e-scooters and bicycles to be stored externally on public transport services including buses and trams,” she said.
A Department for Infrastructure spokesman said it was legal to buy and sell e-scooters for use on private property.
“However, using a privately owned PMD (personal mobility device) on public infrastructure could result in fines for driving unregistered and uninsured,” he said.
The spokesman said the national review into “e-scooters and other PMDs” would “identify regulatory barriers preventing the safe and legal use of these devices on the road network”.
“The objective of the review is to provide a nationally consistent approach to regulating these devices that enables safe mobility and independence for all road users,” he said.