Electric foot scooters set for Bondi trial
Electric foot scooters will be whizzing around Bondi next year as Waverley looks set to be one of the trial councils for the controversial form of transport.
Electric foot scooters will be whizzing around Bondi next year as Waverley looks set to be one of the trial councils for the much talked about form of transport.
Waverley Mayor John Wakefield told the Wentworth Courier he had been approached by the State Government and two operators about launching in the area.
Electric foot scooters are currently banned on public roads and footpaths in NSW but the State Government has registered its intention to run trials this summer.
Among the critics who have warned about the introduction of the scooters is Wentworth federal MP Kerryn Phelps.
“I just think of the terrible injuries. The scooters can get up to 23km/h. If you had one of them crash into a pedestrian it could do terrible damage.”
Cr Wakefield said he was frustrated at always being seen as the “guinea pig council” to test out new schemes.
“You can probably hear in my voice what I think about it,” he said. “We have been approached by the State Government. It is up to them, we don’t really have any say. It will certainly be within six months but could perhaps be within three months.”
He said one of the companies that had approached him was American firm Lime. Last month it launched an electric powered bicycle scheme with hundreds of the bikes dropped across the city.
A Transport for NSW spokesman said Manly will be for the first trial location. However, he confirmed the department had been in talks with other councils.
Describing how the trial would work, he said: “Those operators will be exempted from road safety regulations that ban electric scooters for the duration of the trial.
“During the trial, users will be required to comply with existing NSW road rules and specific trial conditions — including wearing a helmet and not riding on the footpath.”
Lime runs several similar scooter schemes across America and recently began a trial in Brisbane.
However, critics have raised concerns over the safety for both users and pedestrians.
Wentworth federal MP Kerryn Phelps said she had concerns not only as a Member of Parliament but also as a doctor.
“As a doctor I can just think of the broken shins, fractures and terrible head injuries.
“For them to be on cycle paths is one thing but I really worry about them being on the pavement.”
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