Page 3251 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 10 November 2021
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Importantly—again, I covered this in estimates at length—the Better Regulation Taskforce is also working on automatic mutual recognition, which is a commonwealth-led initiative. It will have serious implications—many of them positive ones—for the ACT and right around Australia in that licences will be automatically recognised. So, licences that are created or established in one state will be recognised in another, which will assist with the freedom of movement across Australia.
Transport—electric scooters
MR PETTERSSON: My question is to the Minister for Transport and City Services. Minister, the ACT government was recently handed an independent review of the shared e-scooter scheme. What did that review find?
MR STEEL: I thank Mr Pettersson for his question. I know that he has a keen interest in the scheme, and for good reason: they are fun; they are convenient; and they are affordable. E-scooters are proving very popular with Canberrans.
The ACT government recently commissioned a review of the scheme, which we committed to do when we first rolled out the e-scooter shared scheme in Canberra. The review has made 16 high-level recommendations across the themes of enhancing transport outcomes, improving road safety, protecting public spaces, and strengthening operations to enhance compliance and enforcement.
The key findings of the review have included that: shared mobility services are attractive and a travel choice that is good for shorter trips, particularly amongst young people; users have generally found e-scooters to be safe, but there are opportunities to enhance safety, particularly in areas where they are being used alongside pedestrians and cyclists; there is unmet demand in parts of Canberra and an opportunity to connect shared e-scooters with the broader public transport system and other modes of transport; and the scheme broadly aligns with the goals of the ACT Transport Strategy 2020.
The review also recommended that the ACT government consider future expansion of the scheme to more parts of Canberra. They are very useful recommendations that have been provided, and I would like to thank the independent reviewer, Curijo, for their work.
MR PETTERSSON: Minister, what is the government’s plan for expanding the e-scooter shared scheme?
MR STEEL: One of the key recommendations from the review was that the ACT government consider expanding operating zones in major centres of Canberra. The ACT government has accepted that recommendation, and we will be exploring a phased expansion of the current scheme across the whole city by the end of 2022. Subject to discussions with e-scooter providers, this is proposed to start by connecting two existing zones, central Canberra and Belconnen, before expanding first into Gungahlin and Woden and then into Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Molonglo.
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