City of Stirling considers curfew for Neuron e-scooters for hire in council lawsuit

Perth’s largest council could soon impose a curfew on e-scooter riders over safety, noise, and anti-social behavior concerns.

The City of Stirling will consider a proposal to ban the use of the rented e-scooter between 10 pm and 5 am.

In announcing the move, which will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, councilor Felicity Farrelly said a report could be prepared for the council to enforce the curfew “as a matter of priority”.

It comes after a spate of e-scooter incidents in Perth in recent weeks, including two fatal crashes that resulted in the deaths of an e-scooter rider and father of three in Thornlie on Wednesday, and 13-year-old Calym Gilbert, who died in February in Butler died.

Camera IconKim Rowe, 46, was riding his e-scooter when he fatally collided with a cyclist in Thornlie. Credit: delivered/delivered

Cr Farrelly expressed concerns for the safety of those using the 250 rented scooters that have been used since February as part of Perth’s first trial of the devices.

“Use of the e-Scooters after 10 pm to 5 am leads to nighttime activities that cause health, safety, and welfare problems for residents in the pilot area,” Cr Farrelly said in the motion notice.

Camera IconCalym Gilbert has been killed in a scooter incident. Credit: 7NEWS/7NEWS

The proposed curfew would not apply to private e-scooter owners and would only apply to the orange Neuron e-scooters that are part of the city’s 12-month trial.

To participate in the e-scooter trial, riders must be over 18 and have downloaded the Neuron Mobility app. To operate the scooter, they must scan the code on the screen of one of the scooters, which are parked at tourist hotspots, shopping malls, and major streets around suburbs such as Watermans Bay, Scarborough, Trigg, Karrinyup and Innaloo.

Each Neuron e-scooter has license plates and two-speed gears that the riders control via a button on the scooter’s dashboard.

While driving at 25 km/h on bike paths and community roads is legal, e-scooters are only allowed to travel at 10 km/h on footpaths.

Cr Farrelly said the curfew was preferable to a smaller lawsuit.

“Reducing the pilot area is not seen as the solution, as many of the concerns come from the beachfront residential areas where the noise, nighttime activities, and lack of supervision of e-scooter riders complying with the terms and conditions of the rents are the many concerns,” said Cr Farrelly.

Camera Icon, A trial period for renting a scooter is in Stirling. Credit: Daniel Wilkins/The West Australian

Since the start of the Neuron e-Scooter trial, the Scarborough district has been inundated with rented scooters, with Stirling City Mayor Mark Irwin saying the plan had been “very successful” thus far.

“Since the launch of the 250 e-scooter trials, the majority of people drive responsibly… the city’s trial has been very successful with very few incidents,” he recently told The Sunday Times.

Cr Farrelly said comments would be sought from e-scooter trial operator Neuron about the proposal.

The company will also be asked for information on safe driving practices and strategies, rider trends – including average hourly ride start times and average speeds – operational updates, safety, and nighttime noise strategy, and the impact of curfews in other cities.

John D.Mayne
I love to write. When I wasn’t writing for my school newspaper or college blog, I was writing personal essays and journal entries. Then I discovered I loved to write. In college, I wrote for my school paper and my campus radio show. I started doing freelance writing for the Huffington Post in 2009. Then, I joined the team at Newsmyth as a writer/editor. Now, I spend most of my time writing for Newsmyth and as a guest blogger on a handful of other blogs. When I’m not writing, I like to read, travel, cook, and spend time with friends.