Council orders company to remove rental e-scooters from Sunshine Coast

The debate over rental e-scooters is set to continue after Sunshine Coast Council voted to end an 18-month trial and not revisit the issue until 2026.

Neuron Mobility was selected to conduct the trial, in Mooloolaba and Maroochydore, and deployed its orange e-scooters and e-bikes in June last year.

Within a year, more than 130,000 trips were taken, with riders travelling more than 260,000 kilometres in total.

Sunshine Coast Council has voted to remove rental e-scooters and e-bikes.Credit: Patrick Woods, Sunshine Coast Council

But a survey of residents found most wanted the trial to end, prompting councillors to vote against its extension or the permanent introduction of rental e-scooters and e-bikes.

“Based on the overall review, council agreed to end the trial on September 30, 2024, and reassess the Sunshine Coast’s readiness for e-transport hire offerings in 2026,” the council’s customer service executive, Shanagh Jacobs, said on Thursday.

While Neuron had declared its e-scooters and e-bikes well-suited to the region, and likely to benefit residents and tourists, the survey found they were not being used appropriately.

A Neuron spokesman said there had been few reported issues and, “99.99 per cent of all trips have ended safely and without incident”.

The company maintained the Sunshine Coast “could still be a great city for rental e-scooters”.

“However, in order to truly maximise the service for riders and make the program sustainable, many of the initial restrictions need to be relaxed by the city,” the spokesman said.

“This includes allocating more parking stations and removing the very restrictive curfew to allow riders to fully utilise the service as they do elsewhere in Queensland.”

With the major rental e-scooter companies not welcome on the Gold Coast but allowed to operate in Brisbane, the disparity in local government rules has fuelled debate over the competition for space on footpaths.

Brisbane Times this week reported more than 1000 people attended Queensland hospitals with e-scooter injuries last financial year, prompting calls for riders to be more careful.

The City of Melbourne recently banned rental e-scooters due to safety concerns, but Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he had no such plans.