Council is seeking to proactively manage the car, bike, scooter and ride share industries to ensure the right frameworks are in place to maximise the benefits while reducing any negative impacts.
The Shared Mobility Policy and Bike Share Guidelines were both endorsed for public consultation at the meeting of Council last night.
Mayor Michael Regan said while the concept of such shared schemes had merit they had the potential to become an issue if not properly managed - as evidenced by the recent massive growth in bike share companies.
“This is an expanding part of the transport sector and we need to get ahead of the new modes of shared transport which are starting to come to the market,” Mayor Regan said.
“We know there are great potential benefits for our community – for both health and the environment so it’s important we put in place ways to effectively manage it,” he said.
The draft Bike Share Guidelines were drafted to complement recent amendments to State legislation which enables Councils to issue fines or confiscate bikes in the event of poor conduct by operators.
“At Council we are doing a lot to promote cycling use as we know it’s great for health, eases traffic congestion and reduces pollution.
“But we have seen bikes in bike share schemes dumped all over Sydney and many other Councils have had to step in and pick up the tab to have them removed.
“We’d like to see defined arrangements for the operation of bike share schemes so that we can ensure bikes are distributed in places where they are most needed, are parked safely and are in good working order.
“This draft plan will allow for a disciplined management system for share bikes so we can support them to provide easy, fast and flexible travel connection to public transport and reduce the need to fines and confiscation.” Mayor Regan said.
The policy and guidelines will go on public display for an extended time from January 14 2019 to early March 2019 to cover the holiday period and ensure the maximum numbers of residents have an opportunity to comment.