Sandgate, along with three other bayside locations –Wynnum, Manly, and Shorncliffe — will be participating in Brisbane’s expanded e-scooter share scheme commencing December 2021. Here’s what you need to know about the six-month trial.
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Brisbane City Council said the trial, which officially started on 1 December 2021, is in response to bayside residents asking for hire e-scooters in their suburbs to support tourism, businesses and connections to public transport.
Leading micromobility companies Beam and Neuron have secured permits to operate during the scooter-sharing scheme in the bayside. There will be up to 150 shared e-scooters operating in the Sandgate/Shorncliffe Foreshore, including 75 Beam e-scooters and 75 Neuron e-scooters. There will also be virtual e-mobility parking areas available via Beam and Neuron’s mobile apps.
The shared e-scooters will also be locked out of Brisbane’s CBD and Fortitude Valley from midnight to 5:00 am on weekends, with new speed limits now lowered to 15km/hour across the city for the safety of users.
During the trial, residents can report inappropriately parked e-scooters in public places by contacting the operators, as they are best placed to quickly retrieve and park the e-scooters correctly.
Some of the criteria Council will be looking at during the trial include trips-per-vehicle-per day; community feedback from riders, businesses and residents and injury/incident trends.
Beam General Manager ANZ Tom Cooper said they have seen e-scooters take off in popularity and become increasingly entrenched in the daily life of Brisbane’s residents, be it commuting to and from places of work and education, running errands and visiting restaurants.
“There are great recreational e-scooter routes along the coast that we envision being popular particularly on the weekends, but there’s also great potential for micromobility to aid in increased connectivity for residents to travel to and from shops and places of work, study and play, similar to what we’ve seen in inner-city Brisbane,” said Mr Cooper.
