Kiama Councillor Matt Brown wants to make sure everyone in the Kiama LGA is aware that riding e-scooters on public roads and footpaths remains illegal despite ongoing trials in Wollongong.

Councillor Brown will move a motion at Kiama Council’s next meeting on 17 October that clarifies the existing laws around riding the personalised vehicles in public, which state e-scooters can only be used on private properties or pre-approved areas.

The motion comes in response to The Bugle’s coverage which asked Kiama councillors and residents their opinions on bringing e-scooters to the LGA. Wollongong recently kicked off a 12-month trial of e-scooters in the city, but there are currently no plans to bring them to trial e-scooters in Kiama.

While some Bugle readers supported e-scooters for their considerably smaller carbon emissions, many more believe that Kiama’s topography would not be appropriate for scooters, which could lead to accidents.

In 2022, local councils in NSW were invited by Transport for NSW to put forward in EOI to participate in a shared e-scooter trial. Kiama Council did not lodge an EOI at the time because Kiama's infrastructure did not meet the required criteria, and there's no indication from Transport NSW that e-scooter trials will be held in Kiama.

Kiama Council’s business papers suggested that it could engage the public to educate them on the legality of e-scooters via a media release or message on its website.