E-scooters unplugged

THE Gold Coast City Council has revealed it is in no rush to make a deal on share electric scooters after two operators abandoned the city.

While Brisbane forges ahead with plans to approve two e-scooter contracts, our council said it was no closer to making a deal.

RIDE’S yellow and black escooters recently disappeared from the city’s streets. A spokesperson said they had chosen to end their “trial” on the Coast and “next steps haven’t been decided”.

A stoush with the council over bylaws and public land use in December meant RIDE had to rely on the generosity of cafes and apartment blocks for places for their scooters so they were not on council land.

During the three months they were on the Coast, 27 RIDE scooters were seized by the council after they were dumped on the street.

Lime Scooters also began operations on the Coast and copped a $17,000 fine and marching orders from the council in its first 24 hours for failing to seek a permit.

But Lime said the unfriendly welcome had not left a sour taste in its mouth.

Lime’s public affairs manager Nelson Savanh said the company would be back “in a heartbeat” if the council granted approval. “The Gold Coast is a priority for us, we see huge tourism benefits,” he said.

“We can see the potential in the pretty big population ... the tourists coming through.”

But a Gold Coast Council spokesperson said there had been “mixed feedback” about the scooters from the public.

She said a decision on the future of e-scooter schemes would not be made until after a report on the issue had been presented to the council.

Member for Surfers Paradise John-Paul Langbroek said safety needed to be a priority.

“With reports that two people a day are being hospitalised in Brisbane since Lime established a presence there, my number one concern is ... the safety of riders and pedestrians,” he said. Mr Langbroek called for the government set guidelines for all motorised transport on streets.