Neuron and Beam make final plea to Hobart City Council ahead of vote

Article by Kenji Sato sourced via The Mercury

Neuron and Beam have made their final plea to Hobart City Council before it votes on whether or not to slam the brakes on the e-scooter trial on Monday.

In a joint letter to council the companies have offered to make some concessions in order to reduce the number of crashes and hooliganism on e-scooters.

These bargaining chips include more slow and no-go zones, a three-strike ban on poor parkers, a footpath audit, and doubling the number of workers on the ground.

Their list also includes more safety ambassadors, a working group with community representatives, and immediate suspensions for tandem riding and helmet shunning.

​“In response to concerns raised by elected members of Hobart City Council, scooter trail operators, Neuron and Beam have come together to reaffirm their commitment to working with elected members, council officials, community groups, other stakeholders, and the public to ensure the success of the trial,” the letter reads.

Confederation of Greater Hobart Business chairwoman Louise Bloomfield said council seemed bent on supporting the trial, regardless of the danger to ratepayers.

Ms Bloomfield said she thought council’s judgment was clouded by the $100,000 in revenue they are expected to earn from the e-scooter revenue per year.

“There are 100,000 reasons why HCC’s response needs to be scrutinised profoundly. The conflict of interest is bone grinding, not least for the unlucky pedestrians,” she said.

$100,000 is being paid to HCC by the E-scooter vendors. We are seeing this conflict of interest playout in a failure to take reasonable care and concern for its ratepayers’ safety.”

However Tasmanian Small Business Council executive officer Robert Mallett said it would be an over-reaction to abandon the e-scooter trial because of the misdemeanours of a few.

Mr Mallett said the trial was on the whole a “roaring success” with over 100,000 trips in Hobart alone.

“From a small business perspective, it’s also clear to see that ride share e-scooters are a fantastic initiative,” Mr Mallett said.

Concrete economic stimulus stats here in Tasmania – anecdotally they have already provided a wonderful boost for many businesses in the CBDs and inner suburbs of both Hobart and Launceston.”

The motion to suspend the e-scooter trial will be put forward by Aldermen Briscoe and Zucco, who both want to see them banned from footpaths.