Original
motion moved by Councillor Jarrett, seconded by Councillor Gannon.
It is
resolved that:
(A) Council note:
(i)
at the
27 June 2022 Council meeting, Councillor Jarrett tabled a Notice of Motion
which called upon the City of Sydney to participate in the NSW Government’s
e-scooter trial that was scheduled to begin in July 2022;
(ii)
Councillor
Chan amended Councillor Jarrett’s Motion and instead requested the Chief
Executive Officer to “monitor the progress of the e-scooter trials in other
locations over the next 12-18 months and report back to Councillors via the CEO
Update on observations and any changes to Council’s position to participate in
the trial as a result” and “advocate to Transport for NSW to provide financial
assistance to Councils to encourage them to develop and manage the e-scooter
trial and ensure its success”. This amendment was carried;
(iii) Wollongong City Council was the first
city-centre to launch a dedicated e-scooter trial which has been operating
since 29 September 2023;
(iv) on 20 October 2023, Neuron Mobility - the supplier that Wollongong City Council have engaged to supply the e-scooters for the their trial - released a report titled ‘Stronger rider demand continues’ (the Report) which assessed the impact of the e-scooter trial on Wollongong’s City Centre since its inception; but the NSW government is yet to formally assess the e-scooter trial across various trial locations;
(v)
between
29 September and 13 November 2023 over 17,000 people took more than 46,000
trips on the 300-strong e-scooter fleet operating in Wollongong, with a total
distance of over 100,000km being travelled;
(vi)
the
Report indicates that the incident level in Wollongong has remained low and is
in line with expectations;
(vii)
despite
the short amount of time since the beginning of the e-scooter trial, the Report
notes that the economic impacts of the trial in Wollongong have been following
the same pattern as over 20 other cities in Australia and New Zealand where
data shows that “on average seven out of ten e-scooter trips result in a
purchase and 45 per cent of e-scooter trips replace a car journey, reducing
congestion and emissions;
(viii)
the
Report notes that, based on Australian-wide research, the trial in Wollongong
has seen 45,000km of car trips replaced by e-scooter trips which has been
estimated to have saved approximately six tonnes of CO2;
(ix)
further,
around 30,000 e-scooter trips have resulted in a purchase from a local business
either immediately before or after a rider’s journey, resulting in an estimated
$200,000 of incremental spend at local restaurants and businesses in Wollongong
alone;
(x)
Council
unanimously adopted the City of Sydney’s Electrification of Transport Strategy
and Action Plan at the 26 June 2023 Council meeting;
(xi)
within
this Strategy, Action Plan number 5 denotes that the City will ‘advocate that
subsidies for electric vehicles (including for charging) proposed by the
Australian and NSW Government reflect the City’s fleet transition hierarchy
(i.e. e-bikes and other micro-mobility and public transport first then
commercial and finally private vehicles)’;
(xii)
at the
Council meeting of 20 November 2023, Council is being asked to endorse the City
of Sydney’s Access Strategy and Action Plan – Continuing the Vision;
(xiii)
within
Continuing the Vision, Action number 14 ‘Electrification of City Transport’
reflects the 21 actions outlined in the City’s Electrification of Transport
Strategy and Action Plan and recommits the City to both advocating for and
participating in opportunities to electrify transport options;
(xiv) the first NSW city-centre e-scooter trial taking place is in Wollongong, and the company supplying the e-scooters reports they have successfully demonstrated the positive economic and environmental impacts e-scooters have on cities both locally and nationally; and
(xv) e-scooters,
similar to that of e-bikes, are an alternative form of electric transport that
would advance the progress of meeting our net zero emissions target by 2035.
However, given the high pedestrian activity in the City Centre and the risks
that e-scooters on crowded footpaths present, the City should wait until the
separated cycleway network is completed, so the trial takes place only on the
separated cycleway in order to maintain the safety of everyone; and
(B) the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:
(i)
write
to the Secretary of Transport asking when Transport for NSW will make available
their assessment of the e-scooter trials, and whether this will include any
independent data and observations regarding the economic and environmental
impacts as well as the safety considerations collected in other locations
participating in the e-scooter trial over the past 12 to 18 months; and
(ii)
report
back to Councillors via a CEO Update with the response from Transport for NSW
and advice about the City of Sydney’s participation in an e-scooter trial.
The amended motion was carried on the following show of hands –
Ayes (9) The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Chan, Davis, Ellsmore, Gannon, Jarrett, Kok, Scott and Worling
Noes (1) Councillor Weldon.
Amended motion carried.
X086657