E-scooters are a common sight on many streets around the world including Aussie cities like Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. However, sightings in Sydney remain rare because electronic scooters are still illegal in the Harbour City under NSW road rules. This could soon stand to change with a trial in Kogarah now underway. The NSW government has been trialling the use of e-scooters around the state in places such as Wollongong, Armidale and Albury. A trial in Lake Macquarie kicked off in December 2022 with the electronic vehicle available to use on 4 tracks in the area. Now Sydney will finally get a taste of the action with the southern suburb of Kogarah’s e-scooter trial kicking off last month.
Kogarah e-scooter trial
The Kogarah trial started on January 10 with some e-scooters allowed only on designated bike paths, shared paths and roads. The e-scooters have been supplied by the selected provider, Beam, and can only be used by people 16 years or older. They must also wear helmets and are only allowed to ride on roads, bike lanes and shared footpaths. The scooters are also limited to 10 kilometres per hour on shared paths, and 20 kilometres per hour on the road.
This initial trial in Sydney has seen around 60 e-scooters introduced to the streets in a small section of the suburb, namely the town centre, St George Hospital and Jubilee Stadium. Find the full road map of the trial area here.
The NSW government is slowly rolling out e-scooter trials across the state as part of the Toward Zero campaign which aims to achieve the goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on NSW roads. Read all about it here. More trials could be initiated in Sydney after each of the current trial locations have been evaluated. Bear in mind that privately owned e-scooters are still illegal and you could be fined $120 if caught riding outside of the trial area. Get more information about the e-scooters campaign Transport NSW website.