Ginninderry offers e-bikes for hire at The Link Building in Strathnairn. Photo: Ginninderry.
The ACT Government is hoping to open up Canberra’s streets to shared e-bikes for the first time after an overhaul of the permission process.
Shared e-bikes are popular in other cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, but the closest we’ve ever reached here was when the government partnered with the Australian National University (ANU) for a shared pedal bike trial between 2018 and 2023.
Neuron Mobility, which operates the orange fleet of shared e-scooters across several parts of the ACT, had to go through a traditional tender process to be able to start operating here in 2020.
But a new application process, to start from Wednesday, 2 July, will enable providers of shared e-scooter and e-bike services to apply for three-year permits.
The government hopes this will makes it easier for “new approaches, services and devices” – but especially e-bikes.
Strategic Policy and Programs executive branch manager Kirra Cox said the government was renewing its shared micro-mobility program to ensure ongoing, high-quality services that met the diverse transport needs of the community.
“This renewal is an opportunity to refresh our program with new approaches, services and devices – including the potential introduction of shared e-bikes, which can be ridden longer distances and may better suit some riders who are less comfortable using e-scooters,” she said.
Providers will have to demonstrate how they meet a number of “ACT Government objectives”. These include safety measures for users and non-users, integration with Canberra’s broader transport system, contribution to a shift away from private vehicles, affordable and equitable access, economic and environmental benefits and support of “community outcomes through collaborative design”.
Depending on the proposals received, the government may issue one or more permits for a three-year period.
Neuron Mobility is currently the only shared e-scooter provider in Canberra. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
In the ACT Budget for the financial year 2025/26, handed down on Tuesday (24 June), the government allocated $38 million for active-travel projects.
In comments at this week’s ACT Budget lunch, Transport Minister Chris Steel said as the city continued to grow, “more sustainable modes of travel are going to be important”.
“We’re seeing more people adopt electric bikes without the need to provide incentives like other cities have … we need to continue the priority investment in the safe cycling infrastructure.”
He added the government would have a tender going out “very soon” for a replacement for Beam Mobility, the provider of the purple e-scooters which was banned from the ACT last year for lying about its fleet numbers.
Earlier this month, the University of Canberra (UC) urged caution on signing any new e-scooter deals after Perth suspended its shared scheme when a 51-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by an e-scooter rider.
A rider caught dumping his Neuron e-scooter. Photo: Neuron Mobility.
“I would personally caution against [considering another e-scooter operator] at this time when there are so many issues and a lack of data. And we don’t know the impacts yet and I think we need to know that,” Associate Professor of Psychology Dr Amanda George told Region.
A recent UC study found Canberra’s e-scooters were mostly being ridden by young people “knowingly engaging in risky behaviour”, such as carrying multiple passengers or not wearing a helmet.
Data on e-scooter injuries in the ACT are hard to come by, given Canberra Health Services “do not code injuries by the mechanism of injury, but by the injury itself”.
But the ACT Ambulance Service has attended to about 460 “e-scooter-related incidents” since 2017 and 29 so far this year.
The most incidents in one year was in 2021, with 111 call-outs, followed by 99 in 2022, and 72 in 2023.
Ario, a new e-scooter company with fleets across Australia and New Zealand cities, was preparing to put in a tender to operate in Canberra, but will now swivel to the new permit process.
Ario’s three-wheeled scooters employ AI-driven cameras and robotic technology which the company claims addresses the issues with the current crop of e-scooters.
Human “rangers” are able to take remote control of the scooter and move it if it’s parked incorrectly, while cameras also scan the way ahead to determine if it’s a footpath, bike path, or road and adjust the speed accordingly.
Ario will be applying to operate a fleet of their three-wheeled scooters in Canberra. Photo: Ario.
Providers interested in receiving an application package are asked to register their interest by emailing TCCS.Sharedmicromobility@act.gov.au.
The ACT Government will conduct an industry briefing on Tuesday, 8 July for interested applicants, with applications accepted from Wednesday, 2 July to Friday, 1 August.
The successful applicant(s) are expected to start operations in spring 2025.
