New CBD parking zones for rental e-Scooters
Published on 02 November 2023
The City of Launceston will roll out 38 dedicated e-Scooter parking bays across the CBD, designed to encourage safe and responsible parking of rental e-Scooters.
The roll-out of dedicated e-Scooter parking bays was a recommendation from the Council's e-Scooter Trial Evaluation Report, which was endorsed in February, and which examined data from the trial introduction of e-Scooters in Launceston between December 2021 and December 2022.
City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said the new e-Scooter parking bays would be installed over coming weeks and — once installed — rental e-Scooters would only be able to park in the designated bays.
"Once the bays are installed, rental e-Scooter riders in Launceston will only be able to end a hire trip and stop the hire fee from continuing to tick over, by parking in a designated bay," Mayor Garwood said.
"The nearly 40 locations identified for designated e-Scooter parking bays have been selected to cover hotspots across the broader CBD — an area defined as the central activities district.
"This includes both the CBD and the wider area within the boundary of William St to the north, Lawrence St to the east, Frederick St to the south, and Margaret St to the west.
"The majority of locations formalise existing rental e-Scooter deployment locations, while others have been selected as areas where e-Scooters are highly utilised."
Mayor Garwood thanked rental e-Scooter operator Beam for its participation in last year's trial and its ongoing support for initiatives resulting from the data collected and also the community for the strong views and communication.
"We're very appreciative of Beam's proactive work to identify and resolve issues with rental e-Scooters in Launceston, and their work to make e-Scooters a viable means of transport for many commuters and tourists in Launceston," Mayor Garwood said.
"Once the new parking bays are installed, Beam users will be able to locate them through the app.
"This will ensure that parking a rental e-Scooter responsibly in Launceston is convenient, simple and safe, and will also reduce instances of e-Scooters being parked inconsiderately or just left lying about on footpaths or in front of businesses."