A free ride: Wollongong Council hopes to extend the e-scooter hire trial

After already stretching for more than two years, Wollongong Council has confirmed it will seek an extension of the current e-scooter hire trial well into 2026. What isn’t clear is whether this extension will bring any new revenue into the city.

Multinational e-scooter business Neuron began the trial in Wollongong in September 2023. The trial has been extended twice already and is now due to finish on 22 January 2026.

Neuron says the Wollongong trial has been so successful it wants to extend its business footprint beyond the centre of the LGA into other city suburbs.

Indeed, the statistics are very impressive. The general manager of Neuron Mobility Australia, Jayden Bryant, said: “Wollongong’s e-scooter program remains very popular with riders who have travelled close to half a million kilometres since September 2023, and it’s quickly become a key part of the city’s transport network.” That equates to more than 260,000 individual trips.

While e-scooter hire businesses are operating in a number of Australian cities, it’s only in Wollongong where the Council and ratepayers are getting no financial benefit. A Council spokesperson said, “As our focus of the trial is to identify the suitability and uptake of shared e-scooters by residents and visitors, Council did not pursue revenue from the operators during the trial.”

A member of Neighbourhood Forum 5 suggested Council was missing out on a significant financial windfall by effectively giving Neuron a free ride. If there was a $1 financial benefit to Council for every trip taken on our city’s roads and footpath network that would equate to more than a quarter of a million dollars into the city’s coffers.

Neuron, meantime, is loving their Wollongong experience. “We believe it is the most successful city in NSW when it comes to usage of rental e-scooters – in no small part this is testament to how the city has administered the program and our dedicated local team.”

Neuron says the average trip length in Wollongong is 2.1 kilometres, taking approximately 15 minutes.

“Across Australia, 45 percent of Neuron e-scooter trips replace a car journey, which reduces congestion and emissions. Using these calculations, an estimated 36 tonnes of CO2 emissions in Wollongong have been eliminated to date,” a Neuron spokesperson said.

“Flagstaff Hill, Stuart Park, and the entry to Crown Street Mall are among the most popular places for riders to start and end their trip, with many riders using e-scooters to travel along the Blue Mile pathway and into the city centre.

"Research from a recent rider survey showed 65 percent of respondents use e-scooters for their commute to work or study, 32 percent are scooting to run errands, and 32 percent use e-scooters to connect to public transport. Also, 45 percent also use them for leisure and recreational purposes, like visiting restaurants and exploring the city.”

A spokesperson for Wollongong Council said Council was awaiting an outcome on legislation being considered by the NSW Government in reference to e-scooter and micromobility schemes before any decision can be made on making the current trial permanent. “We look forward to sharing the data from the last 12 months with our community, at the appropriate time, with how a permanent scheme may look in Wollongong and in line with NSW Government policy. Community feedback from the trial and a funding model will inform this policy.”

The Council spokesperson said they were looking to extending Wollongong’s participation in the trial beyond 22 January 2026.

For its part, Neuron would love to see any extension of the trial expanded beyond its current boundaries. According to a Neuron survey, 86 percent of riders reported they would use e-scooters more often if they were available in more areas of Wollongong.

“The most in-demand locations are North Wollongong, West Wollongong, and Fairy Mesdow,” Neuron said. “Riders would also like to be able to reach more of the northern suburbs, with Bulli, Thirroul and Austinmer among the requested locations.”