Ballarat's e-scooter trial has had a last-minute shake up, with stricter rules introduced in a bid to stamp out one of its biggest bugbears.
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As of March 1, riders can no longer dump hirable Neuron electric scooters anywhere they please - such as lying across a footpath - and must park at designated parking stations.
A Neuron spokesperson confirmed this week the stations can be located in the Neuron app and riders "will not be able to end a trip in any other location".
The clamp down was decided in consultation with the City of Ballarat Council and the community, drawing on more than 12 months' worth of trip data "to ensure e-scooters can be found where they are needed most".
Neuron says the designated parking model has been "well received" in other locations, and is part of the Singaporean company's "continuous" efforts to improve its service for riders and the general public.
"We will continue to optimise the number and location of parking stations based on rider and community feedback and requests - we have already had multiple requests for parking stations from businesses and community members which we have fulfilled," the spokesperson said.
Safety concerns associated with irresponsible riding and parking were also being addressed through features such as "Topple detection," which alerts Neuron's operations team if an e-scooter has fallen, "who then prioritises repositioning it safely".
Anyone witnessing riders doing the wrong thing was encouraged to note the scooter's registration plate and report issues to the Customer Support team via the Neuron app or website.
"All of our e-scooters are GPS-connected and all trips are logged so it's fairly easy to identify the small number of riders who are reported to be breaking the rules," the spokesperson said.
"Thankfully cases of repeat offending are rare - we generally warn people and try to reeducate riders though our online riding school ScootSafe Academy, however we can also suspend their accounts if they have been riding dangerously or if they continually break the rules."
Ballarat's e-scooter trial concludes on March 31.
The Department of Transport's Independent Oversight Panel will evaluate outcomes of the trial and make recommendations about the future use of e-scooters in Victoria and Ballarat.
