Councillor Louise Elliot furious as e-scooter decision is kept secret from the public

As the decision looms for the future of e-scooters after the end of their trial, a councillor is fired up over the secrecy of the discussion.

City of Hobart Councillor Louise Elliot. Picture: Chris Kidd

AS the decision looms for the future of e-scooters after the end of their trial, one Hobart councillor is fired up over the secrecy of the discussion.

On Monday, the future of e-scooters in Hobart has been included on the closed agenda, but councillor Louise Elliot says the decision should be public and “brought from behind closed doors”.

E-scooters have been highly controversial since their introduction in December 2021, following a number of accidents, hospitalisations, road frustration and damage to historic sites.

Various changes were made by e-scooter companies Beam and Neuron, such as reducing the speed limit of scooters in high foot traffic areas, no-go zones, and drop-off points.

In November 2022, the number of Hobart City Council general meetings was halved and fortnightly workshops were introduced, which are not accessible to the public.

Since then, Ms Elliot said she was threatened with code of conduct complaints after she voiced her concerns surrounding the council’s transparency under the new meeting model.

Matt, Jennifer and Sam Sweetman on e-scooters. Picture: Linda Higginson

Ms Elliot said the decision about the future of e-scooters should be a discussion that’s open to the public because they occupy public property, providing both a “public service and nuisance”.

“The community has a right to see what information is being considered, and how and why their elected representatives vote the way they do,” Ms Elliot said.

“I understand the importance of keeping commercial information confidential, but the results of the survey the council undertook should be available and key information like injuries, property damage, infringements and trip length should be accessible by anyone.”

Ms Elliot said a small piece of publicly accessible information shows there were 135 e-scooter-related presentations at the Royal Hobart Hospital between December 2021 and June 2022.

Ms Elliot said she was “keen” to see infrastructure to support e-scooters and cycling such as designated parking undercover that’s CCTV monitored in place before a permanent yes to e-scooters.

City of Hobart CEO Kelly Grigsby said e-scooters were on the closed agenda because “it relates to current and future commercial arrangements with hire and ride operators”.

“Much of the content of the report is proposed to be released publicly following the consideration of the matter by council.

“In addition, council can consider this matter in the open portion of the meeting if it so resolved.”