Council endorsed the Sunshine Coast e-transport trial for Maroochydore and Mooloolaba in December 2022.

Between December 2022 and March 2023, businesses could apply for a trial permit to operate their e-bike and/or e-scooter business in Maroochydore and Mooloolaba. Council received four Expression of Interest submissions.

Neuron Mobility’s orange coloured e-bikes and e-scooters were the successful applicants and were awarded an 18-month trial permit which was aimed at providing Council with the opportunity to assess if:

• e-transport is a good fit for the Sunshine Coast region and
• the community would embrace this mode of transport as an alternative for getting around Maroochydore and Mooloolaba.

Further information about the trial can be found on Council’s webpage.

Council invited the community to have their say by completing a short online survey between Tuesday, 7 May and Monday, 3 June 2024. Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback. Feedback received through the community engagement activities helped Council to evaluate the Sunshine Coast e-bike and e-scooter trial.

Based on a review of the report recommendations and community feedback presented to Councillors at the August 2024 Ordinary Meeting, Council agreed to end the trial on 30 September 2024 and to reassess the Sunshine Coast’s readiness for e-transport hire offerings in 2026.

Areas of concern regarding the e-transport hire trial included:

• style of usage of the e-mobility devices not meeting expectations
• community feedback and sentiment towards e-scooters – both private and hired – attracting a mixed response
• general community concerns relating to regulation, usage, and rider behaviour with safety being a primary area of concern; and
• impacts to amenity within the community.

Council will continue advocacy and engagement with the State Government to improve the safety of e-mobility devices and their use.

Monitoring the impacts of the increased use and popularity of e-mobility on the Sunshine Coast will also continue, as part of the development of the Transport Network Safety Plan and the Transport Asset Management Plan. This will include pedestrian safety and use of engineering controls such as prohibited areas and speed limits.

The trial of hire e-bikes and e-scooters on public land focusses on:

• introducing a mix of transport options to the region’s transport network
• providing simplified access to e-mobility for people who wish to trial the mode
• acknowledging e-bikes and e-scooters are becoming popular for short to medium trips
• easy alternatives for people to get around that can help traffic congestion.

Introduction and use of e-mobility is supported by the Integrated Transport Strategy, including:

• encouraging greater safe use of e-bikes, e-scooters and other emerging e-mobility travel options
• supporting the end-to-end trip section for travelers
• collaboration with State Government and other agencies to ensure pedestrian and cycling networks safely support emerging personal mobility devices.

There is ongoing engagement with Neuron Mobility to respond to community feedback. Customer feedback to date relates to:

• requests for more parking locations
• not being satisfied with approved parking locations
• inappropriate parked devices or
• poor riding behaviour.