Toowoomba council votes to consider e-scooter trial before end of 2022, following community consultation

Evolution of inner-city transportation or menace to pedestrians and vehicles? Either way, hire e-scooters could be in Toowoomba within months — but a key hurdle has to be cleared first.

E-scooters could be introduced into Toowoomba before the end of the year. Picture: Ian Currie.

Hire e-scooters could hit streets and footpaths in the Toowoomba CBD before the end of the year, but not before residents and business-owners are consulted.

The Toowoomba Regional Council voted at Tuesday’s committee to start discussions with various e-micromobility hire companies, as well as starting a community feedback program to gauge support for the concept.

E-scooters have exploded in popularity across most major centres in Queensland, but there remain concerns about safety because of the speeds of the devices.

Infrastructure general manager Mike Brady said the council wanted to have a trial up and running by November to capture usage during the Christmas period.

The trial would coincide with changes to state legislation around e-scooters, which would reduce their speeds to 12km/h and require the scooters to have a bell to warn pedestrians.

Mr Brady also pointed out how local laws currently banned the use of scooters on the footpaths of certain CBD streets, which could deter potential suppliers.

While Councillor Tim McMahon were eager to see the trial up and running soon, his colleague Rebecca Vonhoff said the council should be mindful of issues like safety.

“We need to fully consider the population and demographics - we do have an older population, so we need to be mindful that and the impacts,” she said.

Originally published as Toowoomba council votes to consider e-scooter trial before end of 2022, following community consultation