The Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan has been selected to welcome the first shared e-scooter trials to roll out across NSW.
The trials will begin on Saturday at Mount Annan as well as the Western Sydney Parklands’ at Bungarribee Park, Lizard Log and Shale Hills.
Member for Camden Peter Sidgreaves said it was incredibly exciting for locals and tourists.
“E-scooters will give visitors the chance to move about this beautiful location more freely and take in as much of their beauty as they want,” he said.
“Users will be able to hire an e-scooter through the provider’s app and they will also have access to a map which shows where the scooters are located.”
The trial parameters have been carefully considered, taking lessons from e-scooter use around the world and across the country to ensure the safest, most practical and effective measures are in place.
“The staged rollout and the safety measures in place are important to ensure users and those around them are safe, but we will also continue to monitor their use throughout the trial,” Mr Sidgreaves said
Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes said the Government was committed to cautiously trialling the use of e-scooters in safe environments.
“Like any new technology, e-scooters present us with enormous opportunities and several challenges to address before we can permanently permit them on our streets,” he said.
“This is why the NSW Government is committed to trialling them and why our parklands are the perfect location to start ahead of trials across multiple council areas.”
Until September 30 this year, councils can now formally apply to hold a 12-month trial with selected e-scooter shared scheme providers in their area. The trial will limit shared scheme e-scooters to riders 16 years old and over, limited to a maximum of 20km/h on bicycle paths, or roads with a speed limit up to 50 km/h, and a speed limit of 10km/h for shared paths.
E-scooters will not be permitted on footpaths and the use of privately owned e-scooters will remain prohibited.
