Plans by the NSW Government to place a ban on people taking e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards on trains between Wollongong and Sydney will be an economic and tourism disaster and a major inconvenience for hundreds of local commuters, Greens Councillor Jess Whittaker told Monday night's Council meeting.
She told the meeting signs promoting the ban had just gone up at North Wollongong railway station, leaving "people feeling confused and angry about this massive change and the poor way it was communicated".
"With a change this big to transport rules there needs to be consultation. And how we got to this point needs some more explanation. By allowing sub-standard products to enter the country, the government is now proposing to punish all e-mobility users."
Cr Whittaker said a basic round of consultation and a regulatory impact statement to outline the economic and social impacts of the ban was needed.
Call to tighten dangerous imports
NSW Transport Minister John Graham said at the weekend the government was mulling a temporary ban on e-mobility devices on trains following a spate of battery-related fires. The government is also calling on the federal government to tighten import regulations to prevent the importation of dangerous devices and reduce the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.
Cr Whittaker told Council the NSW response was "disproportionate ... to a safety issue [that] will punish disadvantaged people – young people, delivery riders, people with disabilities or medical conditions who can’t walk far enough to get to a train station or anyone who can’t afford or doesn't want to drive a car.
"Particularly in a region like Wollongong with steep geography that has increasingly adopted multimodal transport solutions to connect people with trains, this is a massive blow for our transport strategy, and that's why I brought this to the Council at very late notice."
A ban will harm the economy and tourism
The Greens councillor said, if imposed, the ban would have a major impact on the region's economy and tourism.
"Cycling events like Sydney to the Gong will be a disaster if people can't jump on a train home. Bicycle NSW is already reporting a spike in cancellations of the spring cycle event since news broke. Tourism impacts on people who like to explore cycleway routes like the Grand Pacific Walk – forget about it now.
"We are a UCI Bike City with 140 bike-friendly businesses and 23 community partners. And for the long-awaited mountain bike trails in the Illawarra, scheduled to open next month, this ban will be a major blow to people wanting to access the region to experience them."
No fires on trains to date
"I have reliable information there have been zero fires from lithium-ion batteries on trains in NSW. Zero! With 30 per cent of all bicycle sales in NSW currently e-bikes, that's a pretty good statistic."
Cr Whittaker said she was struggling to understand how the ban could be enforced.
"People will be sneaking around like criminals just trying to get home. There will be constant conflict between passengers and transport staff, particularly given the technology in many bikes is very difficult to identify as carrying a battery," she said.
"Cyclists will increasingly leave their bikes at home and take the car instead, if they have one, to avoid range anxiety from knowing they can't use the train as a backup if the bike breaks, runs out of charge, or the weather changes – adding to our car problem."
Others raised concerns that Council shouldn't be buying into a growing problem and a danger that the NSW Government is trying to resolve. The meeting heard that the ban was only under consideration by the state government at this time.
Cr David Brown's amendment to ask the NSW Government to clarify if and when the ban might be introduced, and to ask the federal government to tighten imports on dangerous e-mobility devices was carried unanimously.
