A new $6.6 million funding program announced today by the NSW Government will grant up to $200,000 per application to local councils and other public authorities to deliver e-bike parking and improve rider behaviour.
Staged commencement of the new rules will occur in the coming months, giving councils and NSW Government land managers powers to set required parking zones and to penalise shared e-bike operators if they aren’t used.
As part of the program, councils will have the power to decide ‘no-go’ and ‘go-slow’ zones for shared and private e-bikes and will be able to choose which operators can set up in their area.
To support this initiative, Transport for NSW will aim to deliver 250 parking bays for 2,500 shared e-bikes this year.
“NSW has embraced e-bikes and shared e-bikes, which is a good thing, but we are not willing to stand around and let the wild west scenes we inherited go on any longer,” said Minister for Transport, John Graham.
“Pedestrians have been crying out for order and for their footpaths back – we’ve heard them and we’re responding with nation-leading rules and backing it with an industry-funded grant program to end the conflict.
“We already know properly marked parking bays reduce kicked over bikes and blocked footpaths by half and now we want the 16 councils to provide them in the areas of most conflict and complaint.”
The new Sharing Scheme Grant Program being launched by the Government will allow authorities to deliver the marked bays on streets and in appropriate zones at the kerbside.
Operators are funding the program through a 60 cent-fee paid to Transport for NSW on each shared e-bike trip.
There are 16 local council areas playing host to shared bike schemes from the City of Sydney, Inner West and North Sydney to Canterbury-Bankstown, Burwood and Parramatta.
Transport for NSW is able to revoke an operator’s approval for failing to meet the minimum standards and issue penalties of up to $55,000 if they do not comply with a removal order, plus $5,500 for each day the offence continues.
“We know that more needs to be done to ensure that growth is well supported: people want and need better places to park, and communities rightly expect shared e-bikes to be better managed,” said Transport for NSW Secretary, Josh Murray.
“The new grant program is critical to allowing councils and state government land managers to tackle poor behaviours.
“It will make it easier for people using shared e-bikes to identify better places to park and ensuring share bike planning is integrated with our streets and transport services.
“This will be backed with new powers for councils to issue operators with infringements for poorly parked devices.”
The NSW Government has trialled marked parking bays with considerable success in reducing kicked over bikes and blocked footpaths by half.
