Private e-scooter use has become the "wild west of the e-mobility market" and needs to be better regulated, Brisbane City Council transport chair Ryan Murphy says, ahead of a state government roundtable on e-scooter laws.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey last week told ABC Radio Brisbane the state was preparing a roundtable discussion on e-scooter regulation in Queensland, saying the state was "grappling with what the right balance is".
"There are obviously advantages about people getting around in a way that's a bit more environmentally friendly, but it's also got to be done safely as well," he said.
Scooter boom
E-scooters have boomed in Brisbane since being introduced by shared e-scooter operator Lime in 2018, clocking millions of trips around the city.
In June, the council selected e-scooter operators Neuron and Beam to operate 1000 e-scooters and 400 e-bikes each, on three-year contracts.
But while those companies use technology to keep users within the law – such as the 25km/h speed limit, slow-speed zones, and geofencing in high pedestrian areas – private e-scooters may not have such restrictions.
Mr Bailey said now was the time to develop a "balanced package" of new legislation to better regulate the booming e-scooter and micromobility sector.
Some e-scooters advertised online for sale can reach up to 65 or 75km/h.
E-scooters are not permitted on roads, unless in quiet local streets with a speed limit of 50km/h or under, and largely cannot use bike lanes.
However, they are permitted to operate on the council's current 12-month trial of separated bike lanes in the Brisbane CBD.
Council data released last week shows more than half the daily trips taken on the CityLink Cycleway are e-scooters.
Regulations 'need to keep up'
Cr Murphy said Brisbane's shared e-scooter scheme had evolved since 2018, but private e-scooters were "big, fast, and largely unregulated".
"I am hopeful that the state government's meeting can ignite some really positive and frank discussions and lead to some better rules for e-scooters and e-bikes, as well as improved safety for everyone."
Mr Bailey said he had reservations about allowing e-scooters onto main roads, but allowing them to operate in on-road bike lanes should be considered.
"They're working okay on the on-road cycleways in the CBD, I can see that, and I think that's a good thing," he said.
Better education needed
iScoot Newstead business owner Andre van der Merwe will be part of the roundtable, representing the private e-scooter sector.
Mr van der Merwe said he hoped the discussions would focus not just on short-term issues such as scooter speeds, but on the broader outlook of how e-scooters will be used in the next five, 10 or 20 years.
"What we should be doing is stopping these questions about 'should we have scooters, what should we do with scooters'," he said.
Mr van der Merwe said he agreed regulation needed to change and the discussion was a good step forward.
He said the key issues remained educating users on safe scooting, regardless of whether that was on a road, footpath, or bikeway.
Mr van der Merwe said long-term plan for integrating micromobility into the city's road infrastructure should be part of the roundtable discussions.
Beam spokeswoman Michelle Leong said the company would participate.
"With the rise of micromobility in Queensland, we are actively advocating for additional infrastructure to accommodate active transport — such as increasing the number of protected bikeways," she said.
A Neuron spokesperson also said the company was trialling a dangerous riding detection system to control poor rider behaviour, and continued to work with councils nationally that operate their e-scooters.
