Brisbane’s e-mobility strategy
Brisbane City Council developed Brisbane’s e-mobility strategy to provide guidance to private and public enterprise and support the use of sustainable and more energy-efficient transport options across Brisbane.
Our vision is for a connected city, where transport enhances liveability, supports business and investment, takes advantage of new technology and keeps riders and pedestrians safe.
By outlining a vision that looks to the future, we’re improving quality of life for residents while ensuring our city has the services and infrastructure to meet the needs of future generations.
About the strategy
Transport is essential to the functioning of our city. Our transport networks connect people to work, study, services and entertainment, and move goods, commodities and resources to ensure that our city’s economy thrives.
The Transport Plan for Brisbane – Strategic Directions (Transport Plan) is Council’s plan to guide the evolution of our city’s transport network over the next 25 years as Brisbane grows and evolves. E-mobility (also referred to as e-wheeling) is a key initiative of the Transport Plan and focuses on opportunities to encourage greater use of e-bikes, e-scooters and other emerging, sustainable e-mobility travel options.
Brisbane’s e-mobility strategy provides further direction to realise this key initiative, helping to meet the city’s needs as well as being flexible to respond to the opportunities and challenges ahead.
There are five outcomes that form Council’s strategic direction in the adoption of e-mobility as part of the transport system.
The outcomes are:
- private and public agencies are responsive and work together effectively to improve safety and ensure public confidence in e-mobility
- e-mobility services are widely used in Brisbane, helping to connect communities with local services
- transport services and infrastructure help to enable e-mobility as a replacement for short car trips, especially for the first-and-last mile to public transport
- the use of technology improves the efficiency and effectiveness of e-mobility networks and services in Brisbane
- our transport infrastructure helps to improve safety and public confidence and helps the e-mobility industry to grow.
You can download:
Community consultation
In late 2020, community and industry were invited to share feedback on the draft e-mobility strategy.
Feedback was collected via:
- an online survey on Council’s website
- phone calls and emails sent to the project team
- written correspondence.
On Tuesday 1 June 2021, Council released the Brisbane’s e-mobility strategy consultation report. The consultation report summarises the community feedback received during the consultation period.
For more information, download the:
Using e-mobility devices
E-mobility devices are a great way to explore Brisbane, connect to other modes of transport and avoid traffic on the way. They are more affordable than traditional fuel-powered vehicles, making them a great option if you’re looking for an alternative and sustainable mode of transport. Using e-mobility devices reduces the need to take short car trips, helping reduce traffic congestion and parking issues on local streets.
You can ride an e-mobility device on:
- footpaths
- shared and separated paths (for walking and riding)
- bike paths
- bike lanes on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less and no dividing line
- bike lanes that are physically separated from other lanes of traffic (for example, by bollards or a raised median strip)
- local streets with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less and no dividing line.
There are designated areas you can use e-mobility devices from the ride-share scheme with Lime or Neuron.
Council has expanded these areas to include Wynnum, Manly, Buranda, Greenslopes, Holland Park, Sandgate, Shorncliffe, Brighton, Bulimba, Hawthorne, Norman Park, and parts of Annerley, Tarragindi, Morningside, and Coorparoo.
If you see any poor riding behaviours, you can report this to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) through Policelink on 131 444.
To report inappropriately parked e-scooters, contact:
- Lime via email brisbane@li.me or phone 1800 861 305
- Neuron via email brisbanesupport@neuron.sg or phone on 07 3067 8617.
Where to park
You can park and pick up shared e-mobility devices in e-mobility parking hubs across the CBD and inner suburbs. You can see where you can park a shared e-mobility device in the map below or in the operator’s app.
When using an e-mobility parking hub, park the device responsibly in the designated area and follow the operator's app instructions.
E-mobility parking hubs
To make it even easier for riders to use e-mobility parking hubs, Council is installing decals to highlight e-mobility parking hubs in areas of high demand. These marked e-mobility parking hubs will help ensure that our footpaths and roads are kept clear, safe and accessible for pedestrians and road users.
Council will be progressively installing marked e-mobility parking hubs from October 2024.
Safety tips for e-mobility riders
- Watch your speed. Remember that the maximum speed limit is 25 km/h on shared paths and 12 km/h on footpaths. You can only ride on local streets if they have a 50 km/h speed limit and no dividing line or median strip.
- Be mindful of others. E-bikes and e-scooters go a little faster than your standard push-bike (they’re also quiet), so always be mindful of traffic and pedestrians when riding or scooting. Keep left and give way to pedestrians.
- Ensure safety features are fully functional. Personal mobility devices must have an effective stopping system (brakes, gears or motor control) as well as a bell, horn or other warning device when using handlebars.
For the most up to date information about e-mobility safety tips and riding rules, visit the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ website.
Safe Night Precincts
Safe Night Precincts are a Queensland Government initiative aiming to reduce anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol in popular nightspots.
As part of this initiative, restrictions are in place for shared e-scooters in the CBD and Fortitude Valley Safe Night precincts between midnight to 5am on Friday and Saturday nights. These restrictions include:
- locking shared e-scooters
- 15km/h speed limits for shared e-scooters in the CBD and Fortitude Valley.
To view the Safe Night precinct maps, visit the Queensland Government website.
More information
If you would like to find out more about the project, you can:
- email the e-mobility team
- phone Council on 07 3403 8888.