Page 1886 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 June 2021
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From the misuse of scooters by some intoxicated users, to the eyesore some people see them as when they are scattered about our cityscape, there are some valid concerns expressed by the community.
To encourage scooter safety, the government has rolled out an extensive safety campaign, particularly on social media. I know I get targeted by those ads flat out. It has targeted a younger demographic, and we need to continue doing this. I am calling on the government to continue the safety campaigns and to increase the number of designated parking areas, particularly around the boundary zones and in high traffic suburban areas. We need to make sure people park their scooters safely
A larger network of e-scooters across a larger region of Canberra will contribute to a more cohesive and convenient connection right across Canberra. However, with a larger network comes a need to continually assess the scheme to ensure we have the safest, the most price competitive and responsive network of e-scooters. That is why I am also calling on the government to continue to undertake reviews of the e-scooter share scheme to ensure we have the best performing scheme right here in Canberra.
The ultimate purpose of the e-scooter share scheme is to provide Canberrans with a cheap, easy and efficient mode of transport. Our role as a government is to ensure this scheme will continue to benefit everyone who lives in our city. I am calling on the government to expand the e-scooter scheme to Mitchell and Gungahlin, and to grow the scheme to other areas of Canberra as well.
Gungahlin residents are eager for e-scooters to come to Gungahlin. Gungahlin businesses and employers are eager to see more people use them. The Gungahlin community is eager to share more of our wonderful district with the rest of Canberra. I hope all members of this Assembly join me in calling for this expansion.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee—Minister for Skills, Minister for Transport and City Services and Special Minister of State) (4.06): I welcome the opportunity to respond to Mr Pettersson’s motion and his call to expand our successful e-scooter share scheme.
The ACT government welcomes the interest shown in expanding the e-scooter share scheme. I note Mr Pettersson’s particular interest in expansion in Gungahlin and Mitchell, although his motion is very clear that he wants to call on the ACT government to expand the geographical coverage of the shared scheme to cover more districts, not just the districts listed expressly.
As Mr Pettersson has noted in his motion, since last year the ACT government has facilitated a two-year pilot of shared e-scooters in the ACT. Neuron launched on 19 September 2020 and Beam launched on 22 October 2020. We have been keen to understand the role that micro-mobility plays in linking with public transport and active travel as well as improving how people move around our CBD and town centres. The share scheme that has rolled out has presented a great opportunity to understand what people want, need and value from micro-mobility as part of Canberra’s overall transport mix.
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