Will red flags be required to warn people of Sydney scooter riders?

Sydney’s electric scooter trial plagued by safety fears

By Stephen Coulter

Sydney may be getting close to carefully testing electric scooters if the documents leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald are any guide.

The article cites “public safety fears” as the reason for the delays. While I have read some uninformed paranoia, based on incidents around the world, I would have said public enthusiasm would be a more likely outcome. The trials in Brisbane, Adelaide, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and more than 100 other cities around the world should provide enough information for NSW to get some trials happening quickly.

The reported restrictions certainly sound like my Nan. You’re not allowed out after dark and must have a licence! The same Government department has released drivers licence data, showing 16–29-year-olds have become less and less likely to get a drivers licence — one of the key scooter demographics! Over 25% of this age group in NSW do not have a drivers licence.

And not being allowed out at night! A core use case for commuters is the first/last mile from home/work to transit — surely a curfew of 8 pm or 9 pm would not be unreasonable to allow commuters to commute!

The comments about footpath use are wrong.

“Electric scooters in Queensland and South Australia operate on footpaths, but Sydney is a bit different. It’s the oldest city in the country, there’s a lot of people and our footpaths aren’t designed for motor vehicles”

1. Scooters aren’t motor vehicles designed for roads. They are much smaller than bikes which are allowed on Sydney’s footpaths — pedal or electric.
2. Sydney’s footpaths are the most underutilised piece of public infrastructure — they are mostly empty — apart from when residents cross them to put their rubbish bins out once a week.
3. Most footpaths are ideally suited to scooters and other forms of micromobility. Local governments, not State, are far better placed to decide if bans are required on the few busy footpaths.
4. Sydney’s footpaths are no different to Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne or any other major city in the world.
5. Sydney already has “shared pathways”, most of which are footpaths — designated explicitly for bikes and other vehicles.

NSW, let’s get some trials happening with real-world conditions — not unreasonable rules which will restrict usage and not provide results which emulate real-world conditions and outcomes.

An example of a Sydney “shared pathway”…

A typical shared pathway in Sydney, also known as a footpath

PS. I don’t think the red flags should be required. ;-)