Dubbo Regional Council drops out of e-scooter trial but says the idea is not off the table

The council claimed the short time frame and lack of community consultation was the main reason for dropping out.

DRC mayor Mathew Dickerson said it had been a very 'dragged out' process and 'frustrating' from a council perspective.

"The government has been a little unsure and a little unclear on its guidelines on this particular one," he said.

"We were keen to have some engagement with the government to participate in a trial but we also wanted to do it in a way where we got to consult with the community."

Cr Dickerson said it seemed like the government was trying to make it up as they went.

"I think they got it a little bit wrong in my opinion in terms of expecting us to have a deal done with an e-scooter provider and then go forward with the trial without consulting with our community," he said.

Despite not wanting to participate in this particular trial, Cr Dickerson said there was always the possibility to conduct their own trial in 2023.

"We still want to go forward with something but we want to do it in a way where we can actually consult with community and have meaningful consultation with the community," he said.

"Hopefully the government understands the fact we don't want to participate in their time line but we still want to participate in our own timeline having had the conversation with the community."

Another issue Cr Dickerson brought up was that for more than four months major parts of Tracker Riley, where the initial trial was going to be held, has been under water.

"So even if we had the trial going ahead today you still can't ride on those parts of Tracker Riley Cycleway," he said.

"It makes it a bit problematic to have a trial when you would need boats and e-scooters as part of the trial when we just want e-scooters."

Councillor Josh Black said he believed there would be many in the community who are "breathing a collective sigh of relief" that the trial wouldn't be going ahead.

"It seems like the whole idea was a bit rushed and half baked and ill conceived from the get go just with the way it was set up," he said.

Cr Black said it seemed like the state government was looking for people to trial something that was 'gimmicky' and 'runs on electricity'.

"It's a flight of fancy, with the lack of ability for consultation. I've been following the commentary on social media and in the media, different council areas, people really didn't seem keen, there is a lot of scepticism out there so I think this is a good way forward," he said.

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Following in the footsteps of the City of Sydney Council and also the Inner West Council by pulling out of the trial, Cr Black said they made the right move.

"I don't think a smaller council, a regional council such as ours should be jumping in head first," he said.

Concerns Cr Black brought up was the width of Tracker Riley not being wide enough, insurance and risk of injury or potential death and how that could affect Dubbo Regional Council and the risk of people dumping the e-scooters around town.

"Are our roads and footpaths good enough for e-scooters? There's an increasing number of injuries and death from these e-scooter crashes...I feel like it would be remiss of us as a body to dive into this trial," he said.

"The current trial proposal is too rushed and ill designed, I feel like it's a bit like chasing after rainbows so before it goes any further we are going to do a good thing and pull the pin on it now."

E-bikes on the other hand was something that Cr Black said he was willing to look at going forward.

"We should look at how we can integrate e-bikes into the framework of the city for people to get around," he said.

"I think in 10 to 15 years we will be surprised by how many e-bikes are getting around the town and how people are using them for their regular travel."

Deputy mayor Richard Ivey said he agreed with withdrawing their expression of interest but said they shouldn't scrap it from the table completely.

"One day Dubbo having an electric scooter fleet enabling people to commute between different sections of the city is a great idea, one we need to encourage and foster," he said.

"I think the state government needs to get some of the regulations sorted out first and when they've done that I would really like to see us embrace it whole heartedly."

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