Source : Perth Now news
E-bikes blocking pedestrian paths across Sydney will be moved into marked parking bays in a $6.6m push to help councils clean up their streets.
The use of shared e-bike schemes has exploded in recent years, alongside a significant adoption of commuter-ready personal e-bikes.
While that adoption was “a good thing”, the NSW government was not willing to let “wild west scenes” continue, with an explosion of e-bikes cluttering footpaths across Sydney’s CBD and surrounding suburbs to the frustration of the local community, NSW Transport Minister John Graham said.
“Pedestrians have been crying out for order and for their footpaths back – we’ve heard them and we’re responding with nation-leading rules and backing it with an industry-funded grant program to end the conflict,” Mr Graham said.
Under the $6.6m program, grants of up to $200,000 will be handed out to local councils and other public authorities to deliver e-bike parking and “improve e-bike behaviour” – with funding to be raised through a 60 cent fee paid to Transport for NSW for each shared e-bike trip.
At launch, 16 councils will take part in the program, including City of Sydney, Inner West, Burwood, and Parramatta, while operators will face fines of up to $55,000 – plus $5000 for each day thereafter – for non-compliance with minimum standards, or may even have their approval revoked.
TfNSW will aim to deliver 250 parking bays – 62 already in delivery – for 2500 shared e-bikes this year to support the scheme.
Councils will also be empowered to decide on “no-go” or “go-slow” zones for shared and private e-bikes, and will be able to decide which operators can set up in their area.
“We already know properly marked parking bays reduce kicked over bikes and blocked footpaths by half,” Mr Graham said.
“Now, we want the 16 councils to provide them in the areas of most conflict and complaint.”
Mr Graham called on the Coalition to support the “sensible rules on e-bikes and lend their support to this best-practice framework”.
The move comes after the NSW government announced its intention to establish the first-ever regulatory framework for the estimated 760,000 e-bikes across the state, including a maximum power output of 250 watts and a legal minimum age between 12 and 16-years-old.
In coming months, councils and NSW government land managers will be given powers to set required parking zones and to penalise shared e-bike users if they are found to not be using it.
Transport Secretary Josh Murray said every day in Sydney more trips were being made on a shared e-bike.
“We know that more needs to be done to ensure that growth is well supported: people want and need better places to park, and communities rightly expect shared e-bikes to be better managed,” he said.
“The new grant program is critical to allowing councils and state government land managers to tackle poor behaviours.
“It will make it easier for people using shared e-bikes to identify better places to park and ensuring share bike planning is integrated with our streets and transport services.”
States and territories have struggled to legislate around the boom in e-bike popularity.
NSW recently sought to restrict the use of modified e-bikes on trains in the state.
The Queensland government passed laws earlier this year seeking to introduce a licensing scheme and parental supervision for young riders.
It came after multiple high-profile incidents involved riders, including a mass ride across Sydney Harbour Bridge.
