Canberra’s popular e-scooter share scheme is rolling out to more regions, with the busy hubs of Woden and Gungahlin to be linked from north to south.
“E-scooters have been incredibly popular with more than 2.1 million trips since they were first trialled here in Canberra in 2020. This expansion responds to the desire expressed by Canberrans in other communities for the e-scooters to operate and connect with their area.” Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel commented “This expansion will provide more people with new transport options whether it is for short trips in their neighbourhood, connecting with public transport or commuting to work. It will now be possible for Canberrans to ride an e-scooter from north to south with key safe routes determined with geo-fencing technology.”
Minister Steel said that the scheme has also been expanded to cover the parliamentary triangle, promoting access to our national institutions and attractions.
“With over 50% of Beam riders in Canberra relying on e-scooters for their work and study commutes, we are excited to offer an alternative mode of transport to more Canberrans.” Tom Cooper, General Manager Australia and New Zealand, Beam commented “Our flagship rider education and enforcement program, the Beam Safe Academy, will be in place as we expand our operations into new areas, including in-app rider education on riding, parking and the riding rules, in-person training courses and Safety Ambassadors on the streets to enforce safe riding.”
“E-scooters are a fantastic way to travel around Canberra, the expanded riding area will encourage more people to ditch their cars and choose a sustainable form of transport as part of their daily commute.” Richard Hannah, Head of Australia and New Zealand, Neuron Mobility commented “As we expand safety remains our top priority. We encourage new and existing riders to visit our ScootSafe pop-up events from September 9 and try our digital education platform, ScootSafe Academy to learn how to use our e-scooters in a safe and responsible way.”
Minister Steel explained that the expansion will begin from 9 September this year, with both providers hosting ‘come and try’ engagements in the new areas. These pop-ups will provide an opportunity to for people to get familiar with the details of the expansion in their region and learn how to safely operate an e-scooter. The Minister said that once the expanded areas are operational, we will be seeking feedback from the community on the implementation of the scheme to meet local needs.
In addition to Woden and Gungahlin, the expansion also includes:
- the extension of the Belconnen operation area to include Kaleen
- the extension of the central Canberra area to include Lyneham and North Watson
- Black Mountain Peninsula
- additional areas of Yarralumla including Weston Park
- the suburb of Weston
- Mitchell business district