AN e-scooter hire trial has flopped in Ipswich, with the contractors pulling out before the trial ended amid safety concerns raised by councillors.
The trial, held in Springfield Central, Springfield Lakes and Spring Mountain from July 2023 to October 2024 through Beam Mobility, showed there was demand for the service and there was only one minor safety issue reported.
However, Council’s Infrastructure, Planning and Assets Committee chairman Andrew Antoniolli said he and some of his fellow councillors had held concerns about e-scooters before the contractor pulled out of the program.
The State Government is holding an inquiry into e-mobility safety and use in Queensland, which received more than 1200 submissions and is expected to be handed down in March next year.
“There were a number of reservations by myself and some of my fellow councillors and those reservations have obviously been heard by the State in their inquiry into these types of devices,” Cr Antoniolli said.
“They’re becoming an increasing concern and I’ll be very interested in the outcome of that inquiry, because, from my perspective, until there are some laws which haven’t kept up with the need of these devices, but specifically laws and safety concerns addressed, I think that there will be ongoing concerns regarding their utilisation, particularly on footways.
“I understand that the use of them in the Springfield Central area was relatively successful, and the number of people who used them found them quite convenient.
“But, of course, safety trumps all in my opinion, so until that inquiry occurs, I’m certainly not supporting any further roll-out of these types of devices in our city, until safety concerns are addressed.”
Under the e-scooter pilot, Beam recorded between 60 to 89 trips a day, with the average trip 2.4km and taking 11 minutes.
The most common trips were carried out between Orion shopping centre, University of Southern Queensland and Springfield and Springfield Central train station.
A Council survey found 65 per cent support for e-scooters as a new form of transport in Ipswich, with 63 per cent of those surveyed saying e-scooters were safe.
Safety controls that were implemented and were seen to be effective throughout the pilot included:
- Restricted vehicle speeds for pedestrian activity areas;
- Automatically turning the device off or applying the brake when outside of the operating boundary or in “no ride/no go” zones;
- Apply “no parking” zones where e-scooter parking may be unsafe or inconvenient to other footpath users; and
- Encouraging parking through discounted parking locations on the map.
