ICC to consider escooters

ELECTRIC scooters are one step closer to Invercargill streets.

Invercargill City councillors agreed yesterday to put recommendations from a report on the topic to full council.

Members of the Infrastructure and Services Committee approved recommendations from a report on considering the use of electric scooters.

The report recommended that a trial be undertaken in the city, allowing a maximum of three companies to operate within six months, unless extended.

Cr Alex Crackett moved the recommendations and said, ‘‘I’d like to really commend our officer for proactively putting this report together, because even a couple of weeks ago in Selwyn, they had officers recommend that they just blanket don’t go ahead with anything to do with this . . . They didn’t even put any time into investigating [what] the implications of having electric scooters on their roads would be.’’

Roading manager Russell Pearson said: ‘‘If we’re looking for a vibrant city, lots of young people are really keen to actually have these available to them.’’

Mr Pearson said with electric scooters becoming of more interest to communities, a vote from council on planning the process would provide them with more control.

Cr Crackett said health and safety needed to be looked at from a wider view — ‘‘horses incur over $10 million of ACC funding in accidents and related injuries on our roads per annum, and cars themselves are over $465 million of funding per annum.’’

Cr Ian Pottinger asked if there were equal rights on the footpath, where electric scooters would be allowed to be ridden, and Mr Pearson informed scooter riders would be required to give way.