This was published 9 months ago
Queensland scooter spend streets ahead of other states
All they needed was a quick push and off they went, maintaining pace under their own power.
And that’s just the business side.
The study found e-scooter riders contributed $728 million to the Australian economy in 2022. Credit: Beam
The largest study into Australia’s e-scooter economy has found their riders contributed $728 million to the Australian economy in 2022, with Queensland accounting for more than any other state or territory.
The report, funded by governments, the bicycle and e-scooter industry, and motoring and bicycle groups, said e-scooters were now a multimillion-dollar business in Queensland, where $91 million had been spent on purchasing, using and servicing scooters.
That was dwarfed by the figure of $133 million in “indirect output”. WeRide executive officer Peter Bourke explained that includes the economic impact of people who sell, service and supply scooters spending their wages once they receive them.
E-scooters were legalised in Queensland in 2018, with Brisbane becoming a pioneer in Australia for rideshare services.
Early adoption of e-scooters was one of the reasons economic expenditure on the devices sat higher in Queensland than other states.
But the highest use per capita was in the ACT and WA, the report found, followed by Victoria, then Queensland.
The general manager of rideshare provider Beam, Tom Cooper, said the data showed e-scooter popularity could surpass that of bicycles in the coming years.
“Both modalities – cycling and scooting – contribute a significant amount to the Australian economy, bringing additional social and environmental benefits including carbon reduction and increased exposure to what a city has to offer,” Cooper said.
Rideshare provider Beam’s general manager Tom Cooper said the data showed e-scooter popularity could surpass that of bicycles in the coming years. Credit: Courtney Kruk
“In cities where Beam operates both e-scooters and e-bikes, e-scooter usage outnumbers e-bikes five to one, showing that e-scooters open up micromobility to a wider range of Australians.”
The growing popularity of micromobility – the use of alternative modes of transport to cars or public transport – is in part due to the solution they offer commuters for the first and last legs of their journeys, for example bridging the gap between a train station and home.
International student Raheel Dar uses Brisbane’s rideshare scooters nearly every day, having discovered their convenience while living in West End and commuting to UQ and hospitals.
“The public transport where I lived was not very accessible. The bus came every 45 minutes and I would have to walk five to 10 minutes to get to the stop,” he said.
“On a scooter, [the whole journey] would take me 15 to 20 minutes, max.”
Though he now lives closer to the CBD, Dar still finds e-scooters, combined with the bus, the most convenient way to travel around the city, especially with the introduction of Odin Pass.
The monthly pass, a trial program from UQ, gives unlimited access to public transport across south-east Queensland, and unlimited e-scooter and e-bike use for 90 minutes a day.
Survey data from Beam found 73 per cent of its Brisbane riders had access to a car. Close to half reported using their cars less with access to e-scooters.
The same survey found 40 per cent of Brisbane riders used e-scooters and e-bikes as part of their commute to work or school.
Beam found that during the 2023 NRL Magic Round, more than 2000 trips to Suncorp Stadium were taken on its e-scooters. Similar numbers were noted during Riverfire, with more than 3600 rides.
But e-scooters were also responsible for a growing number of presentations to emergency departments in Brisbane.
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