State Government backs e-scooter safety recommendations two months after Geraldton extends Beam contract

The WA Government is calling on its Federal counterpart to regulate the use of e-rideables as the future of hireable e-scooters in Geraldton remains up in the air. An inquiry into safety measures around e-rideables was tabled in WA Parliament at the end of last year, making 33 recommendations including regulations such as licensing, registration and insurance, tougher penalties, and outlawing modifications. The Government is supporting all but one of those recommendations in principle. However, the State Government is resisting making any changes at a State level as yet, wanting the Federal Government to take action first. The WA Government has written to Federal Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King to urge her to close loopholes, and to impose more effective import controls and anti-tampering requirements. The letter was signed by Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti, Police Minister Reece Whitby, and Assistant Minister for Transport Jessica Stojkovski. The only recommendation the State Government does not back is the call to penalise a device’s registered owner if a child under 16 is caught using it. “We’re proud to be leading the establishment of a national framework for e-mobility devices, with co-ordinated national reforms needed to crack down on dangerous and illegal behaviour,” Ms Saffioti said. City of Greater Geraldton CEO Ross McKim said the State Government’s response would be useful to the council over the coming months. “The City of Greater Geraldton is pleased to see the State Government’s commitment to e-rideable safety reforms,” he said. “These findings will provide valuable guidance as the city progresses its expression of interest process for the future of rental e-rideables in Geraldton.” In January, councillors voted to extend hire company Beam’s contract for six months while they took expressions of interest from other companies. The council noted it would take guidance from the State Government’s actions after the inquiry. Nine safety recommendations proposed by Mr McKim include a ban on e-scooters between midnight and dawn, a lower maximum speed of 20km/h, a sobriety test every night after 8pm, and cutting the number of e-scooters from 350 to 250. It has also been suggested to charge the operator a fee of $1 a day per e-scooter to go towards public education and infrastructure, and to have community volunteers report poor user behaviour to the hire company. Beam has held a contract with the city since 2022, and a spokesperson for the company said there had been 35,000 rides in Geraldton during that time. Cr Peter Fiorenza said on the extension of the contract the council was hamstrung by the State Government’s “negligence” in not moving forward with legislation already. Public debate was at a high point over summer after the death of a 37-year-old man while riding a hired e-scooter in Geraldton on Christmas Eve.