NTRO has been involved with contributions to make emerging transport safer for all. Late last year our experts were called to give an in-person testimony and provide evidence at the NSW Legislative Council's Inquiry into e-scooters, e-bikes, and related mobility options. Represented by NTRO’s Safer, Smarter Infrastructure Team, David McTiernan and Sonny Suharto drew on their experience of local government, road safety, traffic engineering and NTRO’s micromobility research conducted over the last three years.
The Inquiry examined crucial aspects of e-mobility, including regulatory frameworks, safety considerations, and infrastructure requirements and received over 200 submissions from groups represented by local government, state government, e-scooter and e-bike industry, road industry, academia, medical professionals, health advocacy, road safety advocacy, active transport advocates and members of the public. NTRO’s submission focussed on:
- research conducted in collaboration with Transport for New South Wales, that culminated the Shared E-Scooter Trial Safety Design Tool. This is a contemporary Safe Systems resource to support local government applicants to safely assess and permit e-scooter trials on local road environment.
- the need to address the lack of consistency nationally in accurate data collection regarding the involvement of e-scooters, e-bikes and other mobility devices in road and path crashes.
- development of training module by NTRO for a major food industry partner within the food delivery industry; the content was prepared in response to the new NSW food delivery rider (draft) guidelines and is bespoke for this new and growing industry of food delivery drivers riding on motorbikes / scooters, bicycles and e-bikes.
NTRO were one of 41 witnesses to provide evidence at the Inquiry hearing. David and Sonny referred to NTRO’s collaboration with Queensland Department of Main Roads (TMR) to conduct research and local government consultation that resulted in the development of criteria for speed limits for personal mobility devices on footpaths and shared paths. This now forms part of TMR’s Guide to Speed Management. They also gave insights into responsibilities of local government regarding the regulation of e-scooters and e-bikes, footpath and shared path infrastructure, possible approaches to measuring e-scooter and e-bike risk on path infrastructure using video technology and current practices of setting speed limits within road environments where there is a higher presence of active transport, including e-scooters and e-bikes.
The NSW Parliament's Portfolio Committee No. 6 inquiry concluded recently, and its report was tabled and made available for download via the NSW Parliament's Committees website. The report and its recommendations are now with the government for consideration.
I would like to thank to the Portfolio Committee No. 6 for the opportunity to present our input to this important transport mobility issue; thank you also to the NTRO Transport Safety team for taking the time to collate our submission. NTRO looks forward to seeing how the NSW Government might action the recommendations made by the Committee to ensure the safety of e-bike riders, pedestrians, and all road users. – David McTiernan
NTRO continues shaping the future of safe and sustainable urban mobility, supporting decision-makers with research-backed insights.
