Sydney councils that have refused to participate in an electric scooter trial have been accused of missing an opportunity to make the city more accessible as more details about what riders will and won't be allowed to do are revealed.
NSW is the last state in Australia to roll out a shared e-scooter scheme with the first trial set to begin later this month.
But residents and visitors to the CBD and inner-city suburbs such as Newtown will have to wait even longer after the City of Sydney and Inner West Council shunned the state government trial.
The government in April called for expressions of interest from councils to be part of a trial.
Parramatta, North Sydney and Wollongong were among the councils that answered the call.
Locations of the trials, expected to last 12 months, are yet to be announced.
University of Queensland School of Business senior lecturer Richard Buning said the trial would be severely limited without the inner-city involved.
"It's really surprising that the pinnacle of tourism for the country is missing this opportunity," Dr Buning said.
Dr Buning, who has researched how tourists use e-scooters, said visitors found them an easy and convenient way to explore a new city.
"Tourists don't like public transport, they find it quite confusing, especially bus systems … it's quite difficult, whereas the technology with e-scooters is really easy," he said.
"You just rock up, use an app and pay on your phone."
He said it was particularly useful in busy times.
"In Brisbane, it's absolutely the quickest way to get through the city during peak travel times," he said.
"If you're trying to go from one urban area to another, it's just so much more efficient."
Footpaths off-limits
Privately-owned e-scooters are illegal in NSW and will not be part of the trial due to safety concerns.
Unlike other cities, people who hire e-scooters in NSW will not be permitted on footpaths during the trial.
Cities where e-scooters have been rolled out have experienced a dramatic increase in e-scooter injuries.
A 70-year-old woman was taken to hospital last week with broken bones after a crash with an e-scooter on a footpath that was captured by CCTV.
According to Transport for NSW documents, the trial will restrict hired scooters to 20 kilometres an hour on bicycle paths and roads that have a speed limit up to 50 kilometres an hour.
The e-scooter speed limit will be 10 kilometres an hour on shared paths.
Scooters will also not be able to be used between midnight and 5am, unless an exemption is granted, while the minimum age of riders will be 16.
In a statement, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she was "excited" about the potential role of e-scooters, "particularly for 'last kilometre' trips, like getting from the train station to the office, or for tourists".
However, the council wanted to wait for the results of the trial before encouraging their use.
"Due to the high levels of path congestion in the city centre, contested space and disconnections in the bike network, it is the city's view that the CBD isn't the best place for such a trial," the statement reads.
"Rather than trialling e-scooters in the busy CBD, the city will monitor progress in trials elsewhere with a view to participating when the conditions are improved."
The Inner West Council also confirmed it would not participate in the trial, but did not comment further on its reasons.
Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes said in April safety regulations would be a key focus.
"The NSW government will be focused on ensuring that e-scooter regulations are sensible and appropriate for NSW, safety is paramount when it comes to e-scooter users and those around them," he said.
Shared e-scooter provider Neuron Mobility operates in several Australian cities, including Melbourne which began a trial in February.
The company is a leading contender to provide e-scooters for NSW's trials.
"We have been in discussions with a number of cities in NSW about how they might wish to move forward with the e-scooter trials," a Neuron spokesperson said.
Griffith University Cities Research Institute active transport researcher Madison Bland told ABC Radio Sydney that e-scooters had been a "huge success" since they became available in Brisbane in 2018.
"For the most part, people have taken to them in a positive way," he said.
Mr Bland acknowledged the safety concerns, particularly for people with disabilities, but said the rate of accidents compared to their usage was "remarkably low".
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the government was on track to begin some trials this month.
"Transport for NSW will continue to keep councils and the community updated once details are finalised," the spokesperson said.
