Have an opinion on e-scooters? Now's your chance to share it

Researchers have invited Canberrans (even those who don’t use e-scooters) to share their perspectives on the increasingly popular devices.

The survey forms part of a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) research project exploring e-scooter use and safety around Australia.

Findings are to be given to the ACT Government to inform its decision-making and also form part of a public report slated for late 2023.

Canberra was chosen as the last of three locations after surveys were conducted in Adelaide and Brisbane in the period since the project began in 2021.

QUT lead researcher professor Narelle Haworth said the ACT was selected following a low number of survey responses collected in Adelaide.

“We thought, ‘okay, it will be interesting … to see if the pattern of use and people’s perceptions are the same in the ACT as they are in Brisbane’,” she said.

The Canberra responses would also later be compared with international survey samples collected in Belgium, Norway, the Czech Republic and Sweden.

“We decided that it’d be really good to actually have the same survey across a range of countries which have different rules,” Professor Haworth said.

“To see the way in which the differences in the rules might result in different types of attitudes, behaviours and safety outcomes.”

Professor Haworth said Canberra had some unique qualities which could result in different findings to other surveys.

“We know that bicycling is much more common and the infrastructure is better in the ACT than in many other capital cities,” she said.

“So we’re speculating there’ll be more use of that bicycling infrastructure and not as much riding on the footpath or on the road.

“And we thought people who were riding bicycles might have swapped to e-scooters, or it could be a different group of people.”

Canberra’s shared e-scooter scheme was last expanded in 2022 to allow riders to travel as far as Gungahlin to Tuggeranong.

More than a dozen remaining suburbs were added with only some outer suburbs left without access to either an orange Neuron or purple Beam.

New laws also passed in 2022 introduced new offences for riding e-scooters and gave additional scooter-related powers to police.

Professor Haworth said research into e-scooters was not new but past research had mainly focused on the perspectives of e-scooter riders.

“We want to promote the study particularly to non-riders because what they think and their experiences with e-scooters are crucially important,” she said.

“[These are] people who are encountering e-scooters as they’re walking or riding a bicycle or in some way having to share the infrastructure with them.”

Professor Haworth said the overall goal of the surveys would be to improve conditions and safety for people who use and don’t use e-scooters.

People living in the ACT and surrounds who complete the anonymous survey before Sunday 30 April also go into a prize draw.

Click here to complete or learn more about the QUT’s e-scooter survey.