Perth Voice Interactive

AFTER a lengthy tender process Vincent’s e-scooter hire scheme rolled out this week, allowing cross-border riding with neighbouring Perth council.

Vincent has picked Neuron Mobility to provide 250 rental e-scooters for a 12-month trial, hireable via an app and charging $1 to unlock the scooter then about 50 cents a minute to ride.

Perth council started its own e-scooter trial in March, but anyone ducking into Vincent territory was hindered by a geofencing feature that stopped their vehicle dead.

In announcing the Vincent roll-out Neuron has spruiked its “cutting-edge safety features”. 

Last month doctors at Melbourne’s St Vincent hospital warned the onslaught of e-scooters had seen 500 patients present to their emergency department since January 2022, with 143 of them admitted to hospital according to The Age.

Neuron’s press release says the scooters they’re providing in Vincent are all equipped with helmets, have an emergency Triple-0 button, voice guidance to advise people to ride safely, and a “topple detection” function which alerts Neuron whenever one has fallen over, hopefully mitigating the number of scooters clogging sidewalks. 

Speeds are capped at 25kmh on bike paths and roads and 10kmh on footpaths and pedestrian crossings.

The council’s also heeded feedback from locals who were concerned the hireable e-scooters would add to the problem of whizzing riders speeding through local parks.

Areas including Hyde Park and Britannia Reserve will be geofenced to stop the scooters from riding on the paths. 

Vincent council is hoping the scooters will encourage locals to get out of their car, as about 67 per cent currently drive to work. The east-west routes in Vincent are also under-served by public transport.

The scooters are hireable as of November 9, and the council’s encouraging people to use them to scoot over to Pride Fairday at Hyde Park on November 12 for a “scootsafe” event. 

The rollout of the network comes as WA-born international music star Donna Simpson was forced to postpone a national tour after breaking several ribs in an e-scooter accident in Broome.

by DAVID BELL