E-scooters and E-bikes

The riding area will cover parts of the city centre and surrounding suburbs including North Wollongong, Keiraville and Woonona, and will also allow riders to go as far north as Sandon Point. Locals and visitors will be able to reach key Wollongong destinations including Wollongong University, WIN Sports and Entertainment Centre, Stuart Park and many of the city's coastal beaches.

A map of the riding area is available on this web page. You can zoom-in to see the trial area in more detail.

A map will also be available on the Neuron App before the launch.

The Wollongong trial area has been reviewed on the ground to identify and address safety risks. Riders are also subject to the same drink and drug driving laws as motor vehicle drivers, and if they are caught drink or drug riding, serious penalties apply.

• Neuron riders must be 16 years old and above.
• E-scooters can only be ridden on bicycle lanes, bicycle paths, shared paths (identified by signs and/or pavement markings showing a pedestrian and a bicycle), and low-speed roads with a speed limit of 50km/h or less. It is illegal to ride on footpaths.
• On shared paths, you must:
  • ride at a maximum speed of 10km/h.
  • give way to pedestrians.
  • keep left.
• Only one rider allowed per e-scooter, and no tandem riding with children.
• Wearing a helmet is mandatory, there is one on every e-scooter.
• Maintain a safe distance between riders and pedestrians.
• Give way to pedestrians and mobility devices (such as wheelchairs) at all times.
• Do not ride under the influence of alcohol or any other substance.
• Park responsibly, don't obstruct access areas, don’t park too close to a junction.

In most areas, e-scooters can be used from 5am until 12am (midnight). This is in line with Transport for NSW guidelines.

In some locations, such as areas with poor lighting, there may be additional time restrictions. These areas will work in a similar way to no-ride areas. The e-scooter will automatically slow down and notify you in these areas.

No. E-scooter legislation in NSW states that only one rider is allowed on each device. No tandem riding is allowed, and this includes with children.

Neuron e-scooters are battery swappable, which means they do not need to be removed from the street for charging.

Neuron’s Ground Patrol team will safely reposition and relocate e-scooters to where they are needed most, as well as cleaning, safety checking and changing batteries. They also engage with riders about safe riding behaviour.

Riders can choose to pay-as-you-go, or purchase a Neuron pass allowing users to ride as many times as they want for up to 90 minutes per day, with no additional unlocking fees.

For the most up-to-date pricing and promotions, please check the Neuron app.

• Neuron’s e-scooter is purpose built for safety and sharing. The e-scooters have 12” front wheels, 10" rear wheels and wider footplates for the highest levels of safety, stability and rider experience.
• Geofencing technology to control where e-scooters are ridden and parked, and how fast they can travel in certain areas. For example Crown Street Mall and the Wollongong Botanic Gardens will be a no-ride-zone, when e-scooters enter the no-ride zone riders will be told to turn back before the e-scooter powers down.
• Voice Guidance to educate and warn riders of how to ride safely.
• Headlights for night-time and low light conditions.
• Each e-scooter comes with an adjustable helmet, to suit between 18cm and 23cm diameter. Riders are also welcome to use their own helmet.
• Helmet Lock that secures a safety helmet to the e-scooters between trips.
• 000 Emergency Button which can tell if someone has fallen and helps the rider call emergency services.
• Topple Detection to detect if an e-scooter has been left on its side which then alerts an operations team to reposition it safely.
• Follow my Ride to allow riders to share their trip with friends and family in real time, for added safety and peace of mind.

Neuron e-scooters have an easily accessible ‘Toggle Speed Button’ located on the handlebars. This lets riders select one of two speed modes during their trip.

Standard mode is set to the maximum speed set by the state (20km/h) and is recommended for approved bicycle lanes and local roads.

Path Mode is a slower gear limited to 10km/h that is designed for use on shared paths. Low speed zones will be in place in key areas where e-scooters will automatically be slowed to 10km/h.

Despite these two gears, and the geofencing that also controls speed in some locations, it remains the responsibility of the rider to comply with all NSW Government e-scooter regulations.

Yes. Neuron has significant public liability insurance and all riders in Australian cities are covered by personal accident insurance and Third-Party Insurance. This goes well beyond what is required by law and beyond a private e-scooter or bike for instance.

Neuron’s Third-Party insurance provides protection for accidental injuries or property damage to a third party (like a pedestrian or car owner) that a rider might cause during their ride.

There will be geofencing technology in place to control where e-scooters can be ridden and parked and how fast they can travel in certain areas.

There will be a dictated riding area, no-riding zones, slow-speed zones and no-parking zones. When an e-scooter reaches the boundary of the riding area or a no-ride zone the rider will be asked to turn around, before the e-scooter will power down and electronic brakes will be applied.

Geofenced locations will be clearly marked in the Neuron App.

As well as receiving in-app instructions on how to park correctly, all e-scooter riders are required to submit an ‘End of Trip’ photo, a feature which requires riders to take and submit a photo of their parked e-scooter after each ride. Riders will also be offered incentives to park in ‘preferred parking’ locations.

All Neuron e-scooters are fitted with a Topple detection feature, which alerts Neuron’s operations team if an e-scooter has fallen, who then prioritises repositioning it.

No parking zones will be in place in areas where it is not suitable for e-scooters to be parked and these will be clearly marked in the Neuron app. Any incorrectly parked e-scooters can be reported to Neuron’s 24/7 support team to be corrected.

To provide flexibility to riders and capture usage data across the trial, riders will be able to park their e-scooters in most locations within the permitted trial area.

Council and Neuron will be working together to identify a few key designated parking areas and/or no parking areas within the trial area to reduce the risks in high pedestrianised locations. These areas include sections of the Wollongong Foreshore, city centre and near key transport hubs.

For the initial trial launch the Crown Street Mall will be a no-ride-zone. This will mean when riders enter the Mall their e-scooter will verbally tell the rider to turn back, before powering down.

When Council was assessing e-scooter providers, one of the things we considered were environmental impacts.

Environmentally friendly features of the e-scooters include:

• Batteries are charged using 100% renewable energy
• Operation of the e-scooters has been 100% carbon neutral operation since launch
• E-scooters are made with 99% recyclable materials
• The e-scooters have a a fully modular design - all 130 components of each e-scooter are replaceable and repairable to reduce waste (rather than needing to replace the whole scooter)
• Once an e-scooter has reached the end of its useful life, 100% of its parts are diverted away from landfill through partnerships with Ecocycle, and subsidiaries Recycal and Ecobatt.

The trial will start on 29 September 2023 and it is anticipated to run for a minimum of 12 months.

Allowing e-scooters provided through share companies will ensure the trial can be carefully controlled and monitored. Shared e-scooters are speed limited so they cannot exceed the speed limits in the trial area, and they will be geo-fenced so they will not operate outside the approved trial areas.

The trial will also provide accurate data about how the e-scooters are used and how safe they are, to assist with evaluating the future of e-scooters in NSW.

Council and Transport for NSW are keen to learn about how people use the e-scooters, when they’re ridden and for what type of trips.

Data we’re looking to collect by mapping customer trips include:

• End to End Journeys – whether customers are using the e-scooters to link trips to commercial and retail centres, educational facilities, and medical centres.
• First and Last Mile Options – whether customers use a combination of public transport and e-scooters. This may also inform ‘park’n’ride opportunities in the city.
• Recreational Journeys – whether the e-scooters are used for tourism attraction and recreation and link open space and foreshore areas.

A local working group will meet regularly to monitor and manage the trial, and deal with matters at a local level where possible. They will also give regular updates and escalate any significant issues - especially those that relate to safety - to Transport for NSW. This group will include representatives from Transport for NSW, NSW Police, NSW Health, Council and Neuron.

At the end of the 12-month trial, there'll be a full review and we'll consult with the community before making any decisions about the long-term use of e-scooters.

Neuron will be capturing the below Non-Personally Identifiable Information (non-PII) below which will be provided to Council and Transport for NSW to review and monitor the success of the trial:

• Total users (weekly and monthly statistics)
• Age Ranges of Users (to be non-personally identifiable)
• Heat Maps of most used areas
• Total Distance Travelled
• Total Hours Travelled
• Proactive maintenance actions (when a scooter is moved, picked up from restricted area etc).

Neuron was selected as the preferred Wollongong E-scooter Provider following a comprehensive and competitive assessment process against other interested E-scooter Providers based on the following considerations:

1. Trial location
2. Safety & Standards
3. Customer Experience
4. Preservation of Environment and Public Spaces
5. Innovation and Technology
6. E-scooter and Safety Equipment
7. Live Test.

Under updated Transport for NSW (TfNSW) E-scooter Trial Guidelines, we have been advised by Transport for NSW that it is possible for the proposed trial area to be expanded during the trial period.

We will continue to discuss opportunities to expand the trial area with TfNSW. It is expected that the Phase 2 trial area will include more areas of the LGA to deliver on the objectives of the trial while aiming to create an equitable transport choice across our city.

Neuron as our preferred E-scooter Provider are responsible for the management and funding for the operation of the trial.

Council is not providing funding to Neuron for the trial, nor are we receiving funding from the trial under the current trial agreement.

The trial launched with an initial 300 Neuron e-scooters and will scale up based on demand.

We want to hear from you about the benefits as well as opportunities for improvement of this trial. There will be a formal community feedback phase, but you can also provide feedback across the trial through Neuron’s website or through our Customer Service team.

Neuron have committed to certain levels of service for the moving of scooters in unsafe locations and responding to customer enquiries. To report any issues please contact Neuron via their website.

The community will have an opportunity to have their say as part of a trial community consultation which is expected to start towards the end of the 12-month trial.

Any safety incident involving a shared e-scooter will be reported to Transport for NSW.

In the event of serious or critical safety incident (such as crash), NSW Police will be involved.

Please remember that e-scooters have an identification plate and number which can assist investigating a safety incident.

For information on how to report a safety incident, please see How will safety issues be addressed throughout the trial" FAQ below.

Neuron's e-scooters are all fitted with registration plates on the back and front, which makes it easy for people to report any issues. Community members are encouraged to report irresponsible behaviour or vandalism to the Neuron team. There are details on how to do this on Neuron’s e-scooters and website.

In addition, as part of the trial requirements from Transport for NSW, a Working Group has been set up featuring representatives from NSW Police, NSW Health, Council, Transport for NSW and Neuron. The purpose of this group is to monitor, manage the e-scooter trial, and provide regular updates to Transport for NSW