E-mobility Electric Scooters Electric bicycles

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/reblev/status/1126687606299811840

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/brisbanetimes/status/1126744764483661824

[James]

Sigh. Motorists die on the road every day, the effects of our suburban sprawl are killing even more people through lifestyle diseases, but I am yet to see a single article calling for cars to be banned or reduced to 10km/h.

"We can't see them coming (e-scooters) coming and some of them were doing 40kms an hour at least."

On a flat surface in heavy traffic conditions? Pull the other one! Akin to claiming a car is doing 70km/h down Adelaide Street. I am a bit over the Lime witch hunt - it is a valid form of transport. Advocate for a sensible solution, instead of just screaming about how everything needs to be banned.

[verbatim9]

Sigh. Motorists die on the road every day, the effects of our suburban sprawl are killing even more people through lifestyle diseases, but I am yet to see a single article calling for cars to be banned or reduced to 10km/h.

"We can't see them coming (e-scooters) coming and some of them were doing 40kms an hour at least."

On a flat surface in heavy traffic conditions? Pull the other one! Akin to claiming a car is doing 70km/h down Adelaide Street. I am a bit over the Lime witch hunt - it is a valid form of transport. Advocate for a sensible solution, instead of just screaming about how everything needs to be banned.

True! And that particular part of the path where the accident occurred on the Cultural Forecourt is deceiving. There is a ramp next to the stairs. But on approach from the West, there is little indication that the path is going to drop away with stairs. The path is poorly designed and should of been an overall slope without stairs to minimise pedestrian, cycling and scooter injuries/fatalities. It has nothing to do with the Scooters. Just with the riders themselves and the infrastructure around them.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Labor must get the scooters off our footpaths and onto bikeways

LET us forget for a moment the allegedly endangered bird species and look at that other endangered species, the Brisbane pedestrian.

We were standing on the footpath one recent evening waiting for an Uber ride to arrive when my peripheral vision sensed movement in the gathering gloom.

Seconds later a Lime scooter travelling at full speed flashed past, missing me by centimetre.

I yelled "Hey!" as the rider stopped outside a nearby apartment building, gave me a contemptuous look, tossed the scooter onto the footpath and walked inside.

This scenario is now common in our city.

There would seem little doubt Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's subservience to the Greens is eroding her credibility and if she wants to regain some standing, she should move now to give us back our footpaths.

Get rid of the scooters. Nobody asked for them and then suddenly, like a plague of battery powered locusts, they descend on us with the suggestion being that the owners of this business are somehow doing us a favour by littering the streets with the things.

A few points. If I park a car on the footpath or even in my own driveway, the council's parking inspectors will be all over me but the owners of Lime are permitted to have their scooters parked all over footpaths throughout the city. Why?

The suggestion is made the scooters are making it easier and more convenient to get around.

This would suggest that until Lime came riding to the rescue, Brisbane people were being left stranded on the kerb, desperately wanting to transit from A to B or even C but unable to do so. "If only we had electric scooters," they moaned.

Everyone who lives in this city knows this is complete nonsense.

Another point. One the one hand, the Government says Queenslanders are too fat. Solution? Introduce a You Might Be Fat But It's Not Your Fault Bill into Parliament.

Okay, so it's actually called the Health and Wellbeing Bill and will enable the establishment of a body which according to Health Minister Steven Miles, will make us all eat better, become more active and create healthier environments.

The latest 2018 Chief Health Officer report found that 2.5 million Queensland adults and 224,000 Queensland children were overweight or obese.

"The Palaszczuk Government is committed to making Queenslanders among the healthiest people in the world. They don't decide to be fat. Our society decides to make them fat," Miles said, blaming those dreadful multinational fast food companies for somehow hypnotising Queenslanders into eating their products. Why hasn't anyone else thought of that? Pass a bill and the kilos just tumble off.

If the minister is fair dinkum about helping chubby Queenslanders, he can lean on the Premier to get rid of the scooters.

How did people manage to get from A to B before they arrived?

They walked to their destination or to the nearest bus stop or they cycled.

Now they can sling their ever-widening rear ends onto a scooter and expend zero calories.

Perhaps the Government saw the scooters as an opportunity to look cool and progressive to a young demographic.

Whatever its reasoning it was flawed. It is the responsibility of government to provide public transport, not scooter companies who are in the game for one reason and one reason only and that is to make money.

The Government might consider following the example of the French Government, its transport minister recently accusing the scooter hire companies of bringing "the law of the jungle" to French streets. From September, riding an electric scooter on a footpath will attract a fine of 135 euros ($A217). The scooters will only be allowed in bicycle lanes and on minor roads with speeds restricted to 25kph and a fine of 1500 euros ($A2400) for exceeding this.

There's an aged care facility 100m from where I live and it is a matter of time before an elderly person is seriously injured by a speeding scooter rider. Footpaths are for foot traffic, not 35kph scooters.

If the Government isn't inclined to ban them altogether, then at least limit their use to designated bike lanes.

And the requirement to wear a helmet? That's a joke. The police have obviously given up trying to enforce this requirement and who can blame them? They have better things to do than chase helmetless scooter riders.

How did anyone in government think making it risky to walk down the street so people too lazy to walk or catch a bus could be accommodated and allowing an overseas company to make a lot of money by invading our footpaths was going to be a positive for the community?

On your bike, Premier. Get rid of the scooters.

[Gazza]

The suggestion is made the scooters are making it easier and more convenient to get around.

"This would suggest that until Lime came riding to the rescue, Brisbane people were being left stranded on the kerb, desperately wanting to transit from A to B or even C but unable to do so. "If only we had electric scooters," they moaned."

How does he figure that?
The claim is that they make it EASIER to get around, not that we couldn't get A to B prior.

The Author sounds like one of those people who say mobile phones are bad because we used to make do with landlines and nobody complained.

[Otto]

Yesterday I saw a person riding a escooter ( Not Lime ) along the footpath on Logan Rd , Buranda. Thought they were going quite fast , so I slowed to match their speed. He was traveling at 35kph on a footpath, just 5kph less than the CBD speed Limit. That is just stupidity and a serious accident waiting to happen.

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Why councillors voted to put the brakes on an e-scooter ride share operation at Surfers Paradise

RESIDENTS in official complaints are warning council to take action before a pedestrian is killed by the wave of new micro-electric bikes and scooters at Gold Coast tourism hot spots.

A new report to council which for the first time reviews Transport Department crash data between 2013 and 2017 confirms pavements in "pedestrian dense tourist areas" have become a bloodbath.

The data reveals two cyclists had died, 286 have sustained an injury and 212 required hospital treatment.

Seventeen pedestrians were killed, 154 needed medical help, and 246 were admitted to hospital. Twenty-three people on a skateboard were injured. One on a motorised version died.

Council received complaints from 56 residents in the past 12 months, many of them fearful for their safety after a collision with an electric scooter.

"I have become increasingly annoyed, indeed scared. As a pedestrian, I no longer have any rights," a resident told officers.

Others warned of "the extreme danger of silent electric bikes" and predicted it was "only a matter of time" before a fatality would occur.

Several residents described the Esplanade in Surfers Paradise as "quite horrific" and will no longer take their regular walks.

A majority of councillors have responded by voting to put the brakes on plans for a report regarding options for an e-scooter ride share system.

Robina-based councillor Hermann Vorster at full council spoke passionately in favour of an investigation which could provide "evidence" on developing the safest system in Australia.

But he was only supported by Councillor Peter Young as Deputy Mayor Donna Gates moved successfully to stop looking at options for an e-scooter ride system.

Cr Gates referred to the e-scooter fatality in Brisbane earlier this month where a 50-year-old man died after sustaining head and facial injuries at South Bank.

"I think it would be premature for us at this point in time. Given that there has been considerable concern indicated from the Brisbane City Council where that (e-scooter) trial has been operating," Cr Gates said.

Councillors have agreed to consider either introducing or amending local laws "where safety risks are identified" regarding micro-electric devices on footpaths.

Surfers Paradise-based councillor Gary Baildon told colleagues: "I'm getting phone calls from parents and grandparents saying why aren't we doing something.

"The best thing is we could get rid of these electric bikes altogether, and it would make life a little bit better for all of us."

The report said council could make a local law prohibiting power-assisted bicycles, wheeled recreational devices and similar toys off footpaths but raised several practical challenges.

"Introducing such local laws would necessitate council officers having a role in enforcement of the prohibition and would require installation of official traffic signs," the report said.

Council would have to produce evidence that the bike or scooter was a banned device.

"Council officers would further face the difficulty of stopping offenders and gaining their co-operation in providing identification details," the report said.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane City Council fields fewer than 500 complaints about e-scooters

After more than 1 million rides through Brisbane streets, electric Lime scooters have been the subject of 427 complaints from residents to Brisbane City Council.

Figures released by the council under questions from opposition councillors show the popular scooters were the subject of complaints from the start of the trial in November last year.

The council couldn't break down all of the complaints into particular topics other than "non-specific complaints", "safety of pedestrians" and "driver behaviour".

Nearly 80 complaints were made about pedestrian safety, and 28 about driver behaviour.

Opposition councillor Steve Griffiths also asked how many of the scooter complaints required a council officer to attend.

The council said 16 complaints had a council officer attend and "no issues were observed" at the incidents.

"However, eight complaints noted the area will continue to be monitored", the council's response said.

Public and active transport and economic development committee chair Krista Adams said the council took e-scooter safety seriously.

"Council primarily received complaints about e-scooters via phone, email, text message and Facebook and takes any complaint received seriously," she said.

"Council is currently continuing to monitor seven complaints about e-scooter parking and one complaint about e-scooter management.

"There have been 16 instances where a Council officer attended a complaint, with 10 of these complaints relating to parking and six to e-scooter management by the operator."

The council is currently working through a tender process to select two companies to operate 500 scooters per company in Brisbane on a two-year permit.

In March, then-lord mayor Graham Quirk told the council customer feedback on the trial had centred on issues such as "clutter, near misses ... inappropriate parking" and safety.

At Tuesday's council meeting, opposition leader Peter Cumming (Wynnum Manly) asked about the council's planned regulation for the two companies expected to win an upcoming tender to have scooters in Brisbane.

"Will you make a requirement that the two companies who will supply Brisbane's e-scooter fleet must geofence high pedestrian areas to ensure a top speed of 6km/h?" he asked.

Lime recently launched a safety campaign in a bid to reduce incidents and improve safety in the streets, particularly urging scooter riders to use helmets.

The company also announced certain sections of Brisbane would be set up to automatically slow scooters down to walking speed.

Queen Street and Brunswick Street malls, the Clem Jones Promenade in South Bank, Roma Street Parkland and Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley will all be geolocked to slow scooters down to 6km/h.

Scooters are not permitted in Queen Street Mall.

Deputy mayor Krista Adams said in response to Cr Cumming's questions that the scooters were "not going to go away".

"I don't see that there's any way that we can't accept that's the way we will be going in the future," Cr Adams said.

"We are making sure through the tender process that there is a sensible level of regulation being introduced to make sure we protect the interests of the community as well.

"As to the future operators, we will make sure through the tender process if we are working on those outcomes that we have heard from those that are giving us the feedback.

"Speeding is definitely one of them, the state government again is the one that regulates the speed when it comes to how fast the scooters are allowed to travel on our footpaths.

"But we do understand that there is a capability for these scooters to be speed controlled and it's definitely one of the innovations we are definitely looking at through the tender process as well."

Lime's temporary permit expires on June 30 at which time the new tender will come into effect.

[#Metro]

I have tried Lime Scooter myself last weekend. I was pleasantly surprised!

Ridiculously easy to use, and sign up to. Just scan your card and scan the QR code, got set up in less than 5 minutes.

I can definitely see this being very useful for 'last mile' connection problems and getting to train stations etc.

Instead of the Queensland Goverment handing over $40,000 for one car park to people with cars, give them a scooter!

Cost only ~ $600, and you don't need a drivers licence. Think about it, for the cost of one car park, you could pay for 66 scooters.

That would fill a whole bus! The scooter has a ~ 20 km range on it, excellent for expanding the rail catchment, particularly in areas with

windy streets or where BCC won't reform the bus network.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Lime gets rival as new e-scooter company approved for Brisbane streets

Lime scooters will have a rival on the streets of Brisbane after Brisbane City Council awarded tenders for a new e-scooter company.

LIME scooters will have a rival on the streets of Brisbane after Council awarded tenders for a new e-scooter company.

Council announced today that Lime will keep their operating permit, while a new company called Neuron Mobility will also be allowed to operate in the River City.

From July 1, Neuron Mobility will operate 600 scooters and Lime 400, 350 less than it currently operates.

Both companies will have to pay a fee to the council as a cost recovery measure.

In a statement, the council said both companies had demonstrated their focus to safety and community engagement.

"These operators ... are established companies with reliable company systems and commercial capacity," they said.

Neuron Mobility is a Singapore-based company, which has been operating 300 scooters on Darwin streets since April.

It is understood up to a dozen companies had offered expressions of interest to have their scooters in Brisbane.

Lime had previously been put on notice amid concerns about the safety of their scooters. Brisbane City Council said they were satisfied their devices were safe to use.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1143401504537108480

[verbatim9]

I have tried Lime Scooter myself last weekend. I was pleasantly surprised!

Ridiculously easy to use, and sign up to. Just scan your card and scan the QR code, got set up in less than 5 minutes.

I can definitely see this being very useful for 'last mile' connection problems and getting to train stations etc.

Instead of the Queensland Goverment handing over $40,000 for one car park to people with cars, give them a scooter!

Cost only ~ $600, and you don't need a drivers licence. Think about it, for the cost of one car park, you could pay for 66 scooters.

That would fill a whole bus! The scooter has a ~ 20 km range on it, excellent for expanding the rail catchment, particularly in areas with

windy streets or where BCC won't reform the bus network.

I gave them a go too for the first time last Sunday. Yes easy to ride stable powerful and quiet.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/brisbanetimes/status/1149226823378599936

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Lime lifts price before rolling out 'Rolls-Royce' model for Brisbane

Lime has increased its cost to ride an e-scooter, despite a new competitor set to enter the Brisbane market this month.

But the company has an ace up its sleeve, hailing its new third-generation machines the "Rolls-Royce" of e-scooters, with hopes to bring them to the River City as soon as possible.

The price to ride a Lime scooter during the past seven months had been a $1 to unlock the scooter and 30 cents for every minute.

The company has increased that rate to 38 cents a minute.

"We've adjusted our pricing to ensure that we can continue to offer a premium service that is safe, and that continues to deliver excellent operational support," Lime public affairs manager Nelson Savanh said.

Last month, Brisbane City Council selected two companies to operate 1000 scooters in the city as part of one-year contracts.

The council could not guarantee charges would not rise.

Lime will operate 400 scooters and the second company, Neuron Mobility, will have a fleet of 600 scooters.

By July 22, Lime must reduce its fleet from 700 to 400 scooters. Neuron Mobility will roll out 200 scooters by July 22 and expand to 600 by August 10.

Lime has rolled out its new generation 3 scooters in Germany for a trial period and hopes to send them around the world, including Brisbane, in the near future.

The company has addressed common concerns and better-equipped users when they are going uphill, negotiating a pothole or crack and trying to slam on the brakes.

"It is safer, smarter and just a better ride," Mr Savanh said.

"The big things to note would be the battery moving to the base, so it's got a lower centre of gravity and a bit more stable.

"It's also got a bigger battery ... I think you can get about 30-35 kilometres out of our current scooters, I think you get closer to 40, if not a bit more, out of these generation 3 scooters.

"The wheels are double the size of the current one, which is better for stability and especially on cracks and potholes.

"The rear brake works as a step-brake, so for people used to riding Razor scooters when they were a kid, they would be familiar using those brakes.

"The computer system is much smarter with much more accurate GPS, it has the ability to send a message to the rider through the screen.

"It's got dual suspension, just like a mountain bike, and the motor has been moved to the rear wheel, which helps with more power and going up hills.

"Sometimes the bells on the current scooters get snapped or broken off ... so the bell on these scooters is integrated into the handlebars to keep it on there."

Mr Savanh said another recent improvement was scannable QR codes being put onto Lime helmets so if they were dumped, a Lime app user could scan the code and a "juicer" (Lime employee) would come and collect the stray helmet and reunite it with a scooter.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Electric scooters could be riding towards Sunshine Coast

ADULTS living on the Sunshine Coast could soon have the opportunity to scoot their way back to childhood with the potential introduction of electric scooters.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson told a press conference that the council had been approached by a company looking to launch a service similar to Lime's in Brisbane.

"I have recently had some communication from a ride app company, who would be looking to perhaps introduce scooters to the Sunshine Coast," Cr Jamieson said.

A bike loan service was "not necessarily on council's radar", Cr Jamieson said, yet electric scooters on the Coast could be a possibility.

"That's an initial inquiry, there's a long way to go before council would necessarily make the decision around that," Cr Jamieson said.

"But I guess they're the sorts of things to deal with in the future."

Although the ride share companies would need to "convince (council) that the opportunity exists" on the Coast, Cr Jamieson also said residents would be involved in the process.

"There's a job to be done...and indeed, (with) the consultation with our community about how they would feel about it," Cr Jamieson said.

"Obviously there are a number of these companies around now, and they have slightly different platforms that need to be considered."

The introduction of e-scooters in Brisbane has been a bumpy ride for company Lime, after reports of multiple riders sustaining injuries were recorded and hundreds of safety breach fines were given.

A 50-year-old Brisbane man died in May this year after he fell from the electric scooter while on a midnight ride through South Bank Parklands.

Cr Jamieson acknowledged the potential risk of ride share scooters if introduced on the Coast.

"There are obviously areas where it's been demonstrated they are quite challenging, and other areas where they've been a great success, so we've got to try and weigh that all up."

HOW DOES A SCOOTER RIDE APP WORK IN BRISBANE?

Electric scooter company Lime first popped up in the Brisbane CBD and neighbouring suburbs earlier this year.

The Lime app must be downloaded on user's phones and costs $1 to unlock a vehicle and 30 cents each minute of the trip until you log off.

Riders must be aged over 18 and wear a helmet while riding them, with Queensland Government laws stating the scooters must have a maximum speed of 25km/h.

The dockless scooters have been rolled out in multiple cities across the world.

[ozbob]

Lime scooters squeezed out of the Ekka https://t.co/X5DIBMUMNE via @brisbanetimes #qldpol

— ozbob13 (@ozbob13) July 30, 2019

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Neuron rolls out more scooters after demand leaves riders lining up


Neuron scooters have a replaceable battery system and can stay on the street 24/7 if needed.

The new kids on the block, Neuron Mobility, plan to roll out more electric scooters across the heart of Brisbane on Tuesday after e-scooter users were forced to line up and wait due to the demand.

Main competitor Lime reduced its scooter contingent from 700 to 400 on July 22, as per Brisbane City Council's request to allow for Neuron's planned rollout of 600 electric scooters by mid-August.

However, questions were raised last week after pictures showed Brisbane e-scooter users queueing to get a Lime and only a handful of Neuron scooters had been spotted in the River City.

Neuron's Australian general manager Johnny Quattro said it was unfair to say the company was delayed because it had ensured its technology would integrate with Brisbane streets seamlessly.

"Our vision is to deliver an unparalleled e-scooter service ... we operate at the very highest standards for safety, so we were not in a mad rush, there was no delay," he said.

"We had a window [to rollout 600 scooters], from July 22 to August 16, and we are well within that.

"It was a choice we made to make certain the city and our scooters are integrated seamlessly.

"We have developed comprehensive geofencing technology.

"Certain zones will be 'no-go' and the scooter engine will slow down and come to stop, we have also developed slow-zones, no-parking zones and parking zones.

"We have been making certain we are fully integrated with Brisbane City Council requirements."

The plan was for Neuron to boost its total scooter numbers in the River City to 200 on Tuesday, but it may be less, depending on the level of demand.

Mr Quattro said Neuron closely monitored the level of demand and only made available the number of scooters it believed was needed to cater for the demand at a particular time.

"We call it balancing, wherever scooters are required we deploy them, we use an analytics platform and make real-time decisions," he said.

"We deploy according to the demand on the streets, at some point in the night there might be 200 on the street, but there might only be 100 on the street a bit later that night.

"The only other time we take scooters off the street is if they require any maintenance, have broken parts or we want to clean them up - otherwise we keep scooters on the streets 24/7.

"We don't have juicers [like Lime], we have an operations team which goes out to scooters which need a battery replacement and we simply swap the battery system.

Mr Quattro also said Neuron scooters had a larger wheel diameter compared to Lime's vehicles as well as a wider platform to provide greater stability to the rider while standing on the scooter.

[ozbob]

Brisbane residents now have another choice when it comes to e-scooters. Neuron Mobility has officially launched here following the popular Lime trial - in which more than 1.3 million trips were taken. Both Neuron & Lime won a 12 mth permit via an open, competitive tender process. pic.twitter.com/0Fc3ErIa6T

— Adrian Schrinner (@Schrinner) August 5, 2019

[brissypete]

Brisbane residents now have another choice when it comes to e-scooters. Neuron Mobility has officially launched here following the popular Lime trial - in which more than 1.3 million trips were taken. Both Neuron & Lime won a 12 mth permit via an open, competitive tender process. pic.twitter.com/0Fc3ErIa6T

— Adrian Schrinner (@Schrinner) August 5, 2019

Saw a Neuron scooter parked earlier, they certainly look like a better ride than the limes. Hope to try one soon, wasn't at all comfortable on a lime.

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

[ozbob]

People transferring from walking to e-scooter is a concern, but our main worry is that the most vulnerable walkers will be put off walking if they have to contend with e-scooters travelling fast on, or blocking, the footpath https://t.co/fKvo0XuEvw

— Victoria Walks (@victoriawalks) August 12, 2019

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> More electric scooters set to storm Australian cities as experts warn riders about helmets, injuries

More e-scooters are about to start zipping around Australian cities as another two tech firms prepare to launch, but one operator's controversial move has sparked major safety concerns.

More cashed-up foreign tech firms are expected to launch electric scooters on Australian streets imminently, with the zippy, low-cost "rideables" expected to appear in Sydney, Canberra, and some regional centres within weeks.

But with at least one e-scooter start-up planning to arrive without offering helmets to riders, experts have warned regulators to carefully consider the safety implications of changing laws and allowing new entrants.

The warning comes after the death of one rider in Brisbane this year, and a study that showed almost half of rented scooters were ridden illegally even when helmets were provided.

New players in Australia's burgeoning electric scooter market include the $2.5 billion American scooter giant Bird, which advertised for someone to head up Australian operations this week, and Texas-based Frog, which told News Corp it was in negotiations with authorities in capital cities and regional centres to roll out the first "commercial grade" scooters in Australia.

But unlike other scooter operators, Frog territory manager Matt Hankin said the company would not supply helmets and would instead rely on "riders bringing their own helmets" on their daily commutes.

"We want people to wear them but we can't find a viable way to actually include them on the scooters at this point," he said.

"It's really difficult to put helmets on scooters because they just get stolen. It's hard to run a business when you're losing $15 to $20 wholesale cost on a scooter every time someone rides one."

But Lime Asia Pacific government strategy policy director Mitchell Price said Australia's mandatory helmet laws were consistent across all states and new operators needed to address it.

"The rules are there and if you're not going to abide by them then you probably shouldn't come," Mr Price said.

"You can't just come to Australia and put bikes or scooters on the streets and walk away from them."

Queensland University of Technology professor Narelle Haworth, from the university's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, said research showed getting scooter riders to wear helmets was difficult even when they were provided.

In a study of 785 e-scooter rides this year, Ms Haworth found almost half were illegal as riders went without a helmet, rode on the road, or carried a passenger.

"When we did our study, we found the helmet-wearing rate was high for privately owned scooters but nowhere near as high for the hire-scheme ones," she warned.

"That suggests that people who are hiring scooters are potentially not going to be the type of people who bring their own helmets along."

Ms Haworth said a no-helmet policy could leave tourists and riders who wanted to rent a scooter on the "spur of the moment" at risk.

Mr Hankin said Frog's scooters could help raise safety standards in Australia, however, as they featured heavier frames, inflated tyres, and more effective brakes.

"There are a lot of operators who are jumping on the bandwagon but we like to think we're a bit different," he said.

Frog is currently in discussions with regional centres weighing up the Brisbane scooter trial, he said, as well as working groups in Canberra and Sydney.

Electric scooters have skyrocketed in popularity since late 2017, with scooter-sharing firms now in more than 100 cities.

But their arrival has not been without controversy or injuries, with Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Australasian Injury Prevention Network finding 134 people were treated for injuries on or by Lime scooters in Brisbane hospitals over just two months this year, including three with severe head injuries.

ELECTRIC SCOOTER LAWS ACROSS AUSTRALIA
QUEENSLAND: Competing firms Lime and Neuron rent scooters around Brisbane city following a trial last year. The state's rewritten rules for "rideables" include a top speed of 25km/h, a working brake, no sharp protrusions, and a maximum weight of 60kg. Riders must wear a helmet, be supervised by an adult between 12 and 16 years, refrain from using a mobile phone, be under the blood alcohol limit, and have working lights. E-scooters can be ridden on footpaths but riders must give way to pedestrians, and riding on the road is restricted.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Two electric scooter companies, Beam and Ride, rent vehicles in Adelaide's city streets with support from the local council. The trial is being contained to an 11-block area within the CBD, around but not including Rundle Mall. Riders must be at least 18 years old, wear an approved helmet, stow their mobile phone, be under the blood alcohol limit, and ride on footpaths under 15km/h. Private electric scooters are not allowed on public roads or paths.

NEW SOUTH WALES: A working group is developing an e-scooter trial in Sydney following the rollout of Lime electric bikes. Areas tipped for scooter trials include Manly, Bondi, and Newcastle. Currently, New South Wales residents cannot register electric scooters and they can only be used on private property.

VICTORIA: Two electric scooter trials have been held in Melbourne, with Lime scooters at Monash University's Clayton campus and Australian company Ride operating in St Kilda. Victorian laws allow riders to travel at 10km/h on footpaths, and helmets are mandatory. Law reforms are currently being considered.

ACT: Electric scooters are currently not allowed on footpaths or roads, but talks are under way for an e-scooter trial.

WA: Lime is in talks to test e-scooter sharing in Perth, and to raise the current speed restriction from 10km/h to 15km/h.

TAS: Only scooters with a motor of 200 watts or less are allowed in Tasmania, and they are not allowed to travel faster than 10km/h.

[Gazza]

I got a Ninebot Es2 electric Scooter over the weekend.

I currently commute from Beenleigh to Nerang, my place is in the town center and my office is about 1.2km from Nerang station.

If I drive, it takes about 35 min due to traffic congestion at the roundabout where you join the M1, as well southbound of Ormeau and Coomera, and around the Smith St exit.

If I take the train, its about 55 mins end to end due to the walk at each end. (22 min on the train)

With the scooter, I did it 40 min end to end.
Basically
5 min ride, 5 min wait, 22 min train, 8 min ride.

Theoretically, if I lived life on the edge, and arrived on the platform 1 min before the train, the travel time with scooter and train would match the car.

[Gazza]

No need to join the M1 anymore.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/7p2q7rap3jmbtn5/20190827_173457.jpg?dl=0

It seems the biggest delay is waiting at lights
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l84ubxxg7mxiqot/20190827_173523.jpg?dl=0

Approaching Nerang station a mere 6 min later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4aks3kizl1moyt6/20190827_174059.jpg?dl=0


Fold it up and push it like a wheelbarrow on QR property
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uduvztijfxj2csc/20190827_174157.jpg?dl=0


Just in time, 4 min to go.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2slmpjikb2k8dsy/20190827_174502.jpg?dl=0

Easily fits under a seat.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7zj2fresle8nw52/20190827_174933.jpg?dl=0

[ozbob]

Nice work Gazza.  This would make a very good story.  Interested?

[ozbob]

Hi Robert, thank you for contacting us. We can confirm customers are able to take small portable electric folding scooters on our Citytrains.

— Queensland Rail (@QueenslandRail) August 28, 2019

[Gazza]

The screens in the NRGs occasionally show guidelines for scooter use.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1171566380455354368

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> The legal pothole threatening to upend e-scooter riders

Legal experts are warning of a major liability risk to e-scooter riders in Queensland, with almost no riders covered for third-party damage or injury.

Anyone who registers a car in Queensland has compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance, which provides financial protection if they are in an accident and injure someone or damage their property.

However, legal analysis suggests that insurance specifically does not cover you if you are riding an e-scooter.

"The problem comes where a rider has an accident which they are responsible for, so if they hit a pedestrian or hit property like a car," personal injury lawyer Travis Schultz said.

"In those circumstances the rider is not an agent of [the e-scooter company] and to my knowledge there is no contractual indemnity to them."

Mr Schultz said that meant the rider of the scooter was liable for any damages to property, and medical bills of anyone they hit.

Issues with e-scooters in Brisbane have so far been confined to riders themselves being injured, and in one case a man died after falling off a scooter he was riding.

Michael Morris, an associate with Hill House Legal Partners, posted a detailed breakdown of the CTP issue on his firm's website.

"The simple solution, at least from the perspective of riders and injured persons, is for the [Queensland] government to extend the CTP insurance regime to cover electric scooters," Mr Morris wrote.

"This will give riders the protection of being covered by insurance and give victims the comfort that there will be a financial capacity to meet their claim."

However, Jeremy Roche from Atwood Lawyers in June wrote a separate analysis of the issue in which he argued the laws set up to make the e-scooters legal to ride in Queensland mean they are specifically not covered by CTP.

In amending the Queensland Transport act last year, Mr Roche argued, the state government classified e-scooters as "personal mobility devices".

"E-scooter riders aren't allowed to drive on roads with speed limits over 50km/h, and must keep to the left, of a road or footpath, to avoid being a traffic hazard," Mr Roche wrote.

"As it stands, a legal provision to class e-scooters as a 'personal mobility device' has allowed manufacturers to dodge registration and Compulsory Third Party insurance cover."

Mr Morris went one step further, suggesting that riders who hit a pedestrian or damaged property could be sued up to three times - by the wronged party, by Brisbane City Council and by the e-scooter company.

"Not only might a rider not be insured and have to pay any damages out of their own pocket, if the injured person sued the owner or local council, the rider may have to cover the owner's or local council's legal costs and any damages they pay," Mr Morris wrote.

"This liability can arise because of indemnities [promises to protect against legal liability] given by the rider under the agreement with the scooter owner."

However, Mr Schultz said it was "extremely unlikely" a third party would be able to sue either the council or the e-scooter company, and even more unlikely that either organisation would seek to recoup costs from an individual rider.

Rather, he said, the issue highlighted the fact there was a glaring legal hole in what was becoming a popular method of moving around the city.

"It's outrageous that we can have a multinational unicorn company profiting in this marketplace by passing the cost of the damage they're doing onto the public purse," he said.

Brisbane City Council did not directly address questions about CTP insurance as it related to e-scooters, sending a brief statement saying its operating agreements with Lime and Neuron, the two companies licensed to operate in the city, required them to purchase public liability insurance.

Lime public affairs manager Nelson Savanh said the company had a $20 million public liability fund, as well as a $1 million fund for other purposes, which could be used to cover third party claims.

"In some situations where Lime might not be technically liable, we do have that ability to support riders," Mr Savanh said.

"Any inclusion in the CTP scheme would be a discussion for government."

Neuron was contacted for this article.

Both Lime and Neuron have detailed user agreements on their websites outlining that they accept no third-party responsibility for injury or damage caused while using their scooters.

Lime's agreement reads "1.4.6: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and without limiting anything else in this Agreement, Lime reserves the right to hold You fully responsible for all damage, losses, claims and liability arising from Your use of any Vehicle, including, without limitation: (a) physical or mechanical damage; (b) loss due to theft; (c) physical damage resulting from vandalism; (d) bodily injury of You or a third party; (e) third party claims".

Neuron's agreement reads "16.4: To the fullest extent permitted by law, you release us from all claims (including claims under statute that can be waived by you and negligence claims) arising out of, or in any way related to, your use of the products and services".

[James]

This whole 'CTP' issue is rubbish. If we're going to make e-scooter riders take out CTP, so should cyclists and possibly even skateboard riders.

The reason cars need CTP is because they are enormous, fast pieces of complex machinery. 80km/h is not even the top speed for any car, but if you hit anything at that speed, it is game over for whatever it is - be that your neighbour's front fence, a pedestrian or even another vehicle. Even if there is no human damage, to replace a car can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The reason "Issues with e-scooters in Brisbane have so far been confined to riders themselves being injured" is because in any accident, the e-scooter rider is the one coming off second best. E-scooters are pretty flimsy, weigh around 10-15 kilos (~1% of the weight of a family sedan) and have a top speed of 25km/h. If you crash one of those into a third party, the e-scooter is not coming out of that a winner.

With respect to pedestrians v e-Scooters - you have the same issue with cyclists, skateboarders, even someone running at speed. You crash into them, pedestrian falls over. I dearly hope we are not going to make six year-olds on bicycles take out CTP in case they crash into their grandmother at the local park.

This is a few lawyers looking around for a case so they can delve into a fee fest which will only deliver one winner: the lawyers. p%ss off...

[verbatim9]

This whole 'CTP' issue is rubbish. If we're going to make e-scooter riders take out CTP, so should cyclists and possibly even skateboard riders.

The reason cars need CTP is because they are enormous, fast pieces of complex machinery. 80km/h is not even the top speed for any car, but if you hit anything at that speed, it is game over for whatever it is - be that your neighbour's front fence, a pedestrian or even another vehicle. Even if there is no human damage, to replace a car can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The reason "Issues with e-scooters in Brisbane have so far been confined to riders themselves being injured" is because in any accident, the e-scooter rider is the one coming off second best. E-scooters are pretty flimsy, weigh around 10-15 kilos (~1% of the weight of a family sedan) and have a top speed of 25km/h. If you crash one of those into a third party, the e-scooter is not coming out of that a winner.

With respect to pedestrians v e-Scooters - you have the same issue with cyclists, skateboarders, even someone running at speed. You crash into them, pedestrian falls over. I dearly hope we are not going to make six year-olds on bicycles take out CTP in case they crash into their grandmother at the local park.

This is a few lawyers looking around for a case so they can delve into a fee fest which will only deliver one winner: the lawyers. p%ss off...

^^Definitely agree here

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1174401452434952193

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Should e-scooter speed limit be lowered?

With hundreds of e-scooter riders being fined for a range of offences including drink driving, in the, past eight months, calls are growing for a review of just how fast they should be going on our footpaths.

HUNDREDS of e-scooter riders have been slapped with fines in just over eight months for flouting road rules, including several who were nabbed drinking while riding.

It comes as Brisbane City Council calls for a State Government review of the 25km/h electric scooter speed limit, with safety experts suggesting a 10km/h limit on footpaths could bolster safety.

Police statistics reveal that 866 penalties were handed out for illegal use of e-scooters between December and August, including 67 infringements for riding on a prohibited road. Another 775 riders were fined for failing to wear a helmet, six were caught using mobile phones, and four were busted drinking alcohol while riding.

The council will next month urge the State Gov­ernment at the Local Gov­ernment Association of Queensland annual conference to review the 25km/h speed limit, amid community fears it is unsafe for riders and pedestrians.

The authors of a Queensland University of Technology study of Lime scooter use over three days in February, published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, also say lowering the e-scooter speed limit to 10km/h on footpaths would improve safety.

Alternatively, the researchers suggest adopting the US model where e-scooters are banned from footpaths and instead ridden on roads at a maximum speed of 25km/h.

"The Queensland 25km/h speed limit would be more appropriate were e-scooters ridden on roads rather than footpaths," the authors said.

The council has called for the ban on e-scooters using on-street bicycle lanes to be lifted, as well as a review of whether a speed limit should be introduced for footpaths.

"There is an anomaly in the Queensland Road Rules in that personal mobility devices are not allowed to use on-road bicycle lanes, although their maximum speed under the amended Queensland Road Rules is more compatible with bicycles," Deputy Mayor Krista Adams said. "The speed and vulnerability of personalised mobility devices are similar to bicycles and therefore a review of the ban is appropriate."

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said if the council was concerned about e-scooter speed limits, it should consider imposing lower limits in its contracts with hire companies Lime and Neuron.

While he did not rule out a review, Mr Bailey said the Government would continue to watch how the scooters were used and make any changes in consultation with the public if necessary.

"Their fleets make up the bulk of e-scooters on Brisbane footpaths, so that's an obvious option for council to explore," he said. "Riders are free to travel at much lower speeds than 25km/h and most of them do."

Mr Bailey said the Government was not considering lifting the e-scooter ban for on-road bicycle lanes because of "obvious safety concerns".

Lime public affairs manager Nelson Savanh said the company was committed to safety and reminded riders to follow the road rules and be aware of pedestrians.

"Wearing a helmet isn't just the law, it's for riders' safety. That's why we've distributed over 12,000 courtesy helmets in Brisbane since November last year," he said.

"We're committed to the safety of our riders and we encourage safer behaviours through email and in-app messages as well as community safety events."

A Queensland Police Service spokesman said officers would continue to enforce the state's road rules.

The number of Lime scooters allowed on Brisbane streets was slashed from 750 to 400 earlier this year after the council approved plans for a second hire company to operate in the city. Neuron Mobility began rolling out its fleet of 600 e-scooters in July.

Lime user Lara Renton, who was visiting Brisbane from Sydney at the weekend, said the green scooters were a good way to see the city.

"It's kind of handy to have an option which allows you to see a little bit more than you might otherwise be able to just by walking," she said.

"You don't get to see very much if you're on a bus or on a train.

"It's a nice kind of intermediate option."

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Council sees red about electric ride share scheme starting on the Gold Coast

Council has put a barrier in the way of electric scooter ride share schemes just days after Lime Scooters announced plans for a Gold Coast trial.

THE council has put up a stop sign to an electric scooter ride share scheme starting up in the city.

A report to a council transport committee meeting by officers recommended the council not support any private operators rolling out electric scooters due to "public safety and amenity concerns".

Councillors unanimously backed the recommendation, fearing a fatality could wreck the city's international tourism reputation and acknowledging council had no way of policing and fining speedsters.

Lime Scooters this week announced it had plans to roll out up to 500 scooters in three suburbs as part of a trial starting in December, but council's decision effectively stops the machines being used at Broadwater Parklands, Griffith University and Varsity Lakes.

Transport committee chair Pauline Young told the Bulletin: "We've had a lot of applications made to the city from electric scooter companies to set up their product within the city. We had a report brought back on that today which at this stage the city doesn't support the electric scooters in our public areas. It was unanimous."

Councillor Young said the council's "active transport strategy" was focused on walking and push bikes, with a shared bicycle scheme likely to start up in February next year.

"We need one to two years of research, especially where it comes to safety issues. We don't have enough collective data at this stage with our safety issues to support approval of having another scooter company within this city," Cr Young said.

"The majority of councillors have had concerns with the electric scooters currently on our pathways — the incidences of speeding pedestrians feeling they can't walk safely on our paths due to the speed of them, the fact that we can't enforce any sort of speed fines because they actually have to be fitted with a speedometer.

"For us to be able to support them we need at least one to two years of data to say what is the best way for the city to mitigate any risks."

While Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek supports a trial of electric scooters, area councillor Gary Baildon at committee today remained strongly opposed.

"These electric scooters terrorise the community and I get the calls time and time again. Families are absolutely crying on the phone and demanding these scooters are stopped due to the danger to the community," Cr Baildon said.

The report to council said it was "highly probable" that e-scooter hire scheme operations in the city would have an impact on council's risk exposure in terms of insurance.

"As it now stands footpaths are a constant source of claims with some 530 arising from this source alone since the commencement of council's Captive insurance company on 1 July, 2007," the report said.

"Of those 530 the vast majority are pedestrian related trips, slips and falls however there are occurrences of injuries arising out of wheeled devices becoming unstable due to height variances and near path vegetation related hazards.

Clearly the greatest risk will be the risk of collision with pedestrians resulting in injuries to both rider and pedestrian."

During the first two months of an e-scooter ride share scheme trial in Brisbane, 134 riders were treated at five central city hospitals for injuries ranging from head traumas to broken limbs.

In May this year a male rider on a hired e-scooter in the Southbank precinct sustained critical head and facial injuries after a crash and later died from a heart attack.

[SurfRail]

Interesting they didn't refer to Lime's last attempt to start operating on the GC without Council's imprimatur - from what I recall GCCC had confiscated about 25% of their fleet in the first day.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Thieves stripping Lime e-scooters of batteries, electronics

THIEVES stripped at least half a dozen Lime e-scooters of their valuable lithium batteries and electronics and dumped the frames in the Brisbane River near the Fig Tree Pocket boat ramp.

A resident, who didn't wish to be named, said the frames had clearly been tossed out into the water and could be seen in the mud for several weeks before someone fished them out.

E-scooters cost about $500 to $1000.

It is believed some thieves may have experimented with wrapping the scooters, which can be remotely tracked by Lime staff, in certain materials in an effort to mask their location.

The scooters' wheels unlock only if the company's app is used, however there is nothing to stop thieves from picking them up and putting them in a car, or carrying them away.

Lime did have loud alarms which activated when the devices were taken outside designated areas, but later deactivated them.

Cheap kits can also be bought online to deactivate the devices' GPS systems.

It reported last year that only 1 per cent of its scooters in the United States had been stolen or vandalised.

It is believed some thieves may have experimented with wrapping the scooters, which can be remotely tracked by Lime staff, in certain materials in an effort to mask their location.

The scooters' wheels unlock only if the company's app is used, however there is nothing to stop thieves from picking them up and putting them in a car, or carrying them away.

Lime did have loud alarms which activated when the devices were taken outside designated areas, but later deactivated them.

Cheap kits can also be bought online to deactivate the devices' GPS systems.

It reported last year that only 1 per cent of its scooters in the United States had been stolen or vandalised.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Lime Scooters in Brisbane to double under ambitious plan to expand outside of CBD

E-SCOOTER numbers in Brisbane would be doubled under an ambitious plan from Lime to roll out its services well beyond the CBD.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Lime is pushing Brisbane City Council to significantly increase the number of e-scooters permitted to operate in the city from 1000 to about 2000.

They say the 1000 scooters Neuron and Lime operate between them is not enough to keep up with demand, forcing them to limit much of their services to the CBD.

Lime's public affairs manager Nelson Savanh said there were lots of opportunities to roll out more scooters across the River City, even in suburbs such as Cannon Hill and Bulimba.

"Riders are telling us that they're wanting more scooters in really fast-growing areas of the city, especially around Newstead and New Farm," he said. "We've also had lots of people through our customer service channels say that they want to see scooters in places like Bulimba. People outside the core of the CBD are wanting to use the scooters in different ways and we'd like to be able to service it."

Mr Savanh said they wanted to deploy their scooters in areas where they would not be idle, and there was plenty of activity and density.

"But when you've got new projects like the Brisbane Metro coming up, it will be really interesting to see how scooters can help bring commuters to and from those stations to support that infrastructure in the middle-ring suburbs of Brisbane as well."

Mr Savanh said doubling the citywide fleet to 2000 would help Lime understand how residents in CBD fringe suburbs such as Toowong would use the scooters.

Public and Active Transport chairwoman Krista Adams said the caps would be reviewed when the current 12-month contracts issued to Lime and Neuron were up for renewal.

"Council issued the operators a citywide permit and the individual operators can decide what suburbs they would like to deploy their e-scooters in," she said.

[ozbob]

10 Daily --> Sydney E-Scooter Trial Axed Before It's Rolled Out

A trial of share electric scooters for Sydney has been axed, even as a government department continues work on planning for its rollout.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance ruled out the trial of e-scooters in an interview aired by 10 News First on Thursday.

"I'm not going to allow the e-scooter companies to pollute Sydney in the same way they have around the world," he said.

"It's a disgrace.

"You should see the cities of Europe, the cities of America, littered with these e-scooters, a lack of care, polluting the streets, putting people at risk.

"Paris is a disaster zone when it comes to e-scooters."

Over the past year bureaucrats within Transport for NSW have been working with at least half a dozen local councils, police and e-scooter companies on a framework for the trial.

Their report to Constance is likely to be handed over next year and is expected to detail what legislative or regulatory changes need to be made to allow a trial of the e-scooters in pockets of Sydney or a regional area, such as Newcastle.

But Constance appears to have made up his mind already.

"Ultimately they're not going to form any part of the transport solution in our city. They're a danger to the community, they're a danger on the roads, they're dangerous on footpaths, and they're dangerous generally," he claimed.

"It's unacceptable and we're not going to bring that here."

His comments were a disappointment to e-scooter sharing company Lime, which has already rolled out its scooters in Brisbane and begun a trial in Adelaide.

"Just here in Australia we've had close to four million rides of e-scooters", said Lime's head of government relations for Asia Pacific Mitchell Price.

"Now's the time for the NSW Government to show leadership. We've been engaged for over 12 months now and communities are crying out for solutions."

Current NSW laws prohibit the use of e-scooters in any public place including roads, footpaths, shared paths and in parks.

The electric scooters cost $1.00 to start and then charge a per-kilometre rate. Users unlock the scooters by scanning a QR code using their phone.

E-scooter rollouts in European and American cities by Lime and fellow sharing company Bird have been controversial, with websites filled with images and videos of accidents, near misses, and scooters being fished out of waterways.

"Whilst we might look at private use in bike lanes, we are not going to look at the e-scooter businesses to trash the streets of Sydney in the same way they have trashed streets around the world," Constance claimed.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Buzz over electric scooters for 'last mile' commute

Once considered a children's toy, scooters are fast becoming a popular way for commuters to avoid traffic snarls on the way to the office or home.

COMMUTERS are driving a sales surge of electric scooters in Queensland, with manufacturers capitalising off the back of 'gateway' rental companies like Lime and Neuron.

Scooter brand Razor has reported an 81 per cent jump in sales of its electric scooters across Queensland over the past year. Its manufacturer, Funtastic, attributes the resurgence of scooters to the arrival of electric rental options.

"The way we see Lime is really the trial offering on the market," Funtastic head of marketing Kiera Day said. "We're seeing people are really quickly converting into actually purchasing into an electric scooter. We can see direct correlation of sales in Queenslands due to the Lime offering."

Digital sales of Razor scooters had been strong, she said, with Funtastic reporting online orders increasing 84 per cent year-on-year.

Once been considered a toy for children, "commuter scooters" have now become popular with office workers skipping between train and bus stops and their offices and homes.

"(Locals) are seeing it as a form of convenience, a way to avoid traffic," Ms Day said.

"We often refer to Razor as the 'last mile' (of a journey), so you catch the train to work and then you use the scooter to get the last couple of kilometres to the office," she said.

She said lightweight and foldable models had become favourites among this market.

[Gazza]

I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.I told you so.