COMMENT: No incentives to drop the car and ride a scooter

BY SIOBHAN F MOYLAN

Last year Clover Moore pledged to make Sydney’s streets resemble those of Rome – the spiritual home of scooters. But how can Sydney be similar to this so-called spiritual home when scooter riders are being slugged with fines that equal those distributed to cars’ And when there is barely enough room to park the two-wheelers’
In NSW alone, scooter sales jumped from 2,683 in 2006, to 2,784 in 2007. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, who calculated the figures, expects this number will continue to rise.
The City of Sydney Council has been looking at how improvements can be made for motorcycle/scooter parking over the past year. One option is to follow our neighbouring state Victoria’s lead where free parking on footpaths is legal. Melbourne is the only Australian capital city that allows scooters and motorcycles to park on footpaths.
The issue of fines is another complication plaguing riders. As it stands now, a scooter rider, by law, needs to buy a ticket for metered parking and are then expected to keep it on-hand. In the event that they receive a fine, they are required to send it to the Infringement Bureau and argue to have it lifted by reproducing the ticket.
Many rangers say they feel issuing tickets to scooter riders is a waste of their time, and the riders time, so some rangers won’t bother fining scooters – although most do.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said: “The City is currently preparing a motorcycle and scooter strategy, when this is completed the City will be in a better position to consider solutions for riders and the community.”
A spokesperson for the council added: ‘There are now more than 600 motorcycle-only spaces available in the City of Sydney. Locations are available on the City’s website”. Indeed if you visit the website only 496 are mentioned, so hopefully those maintaining the council’s site will update the map soon so riders know where the extra 100 spaces are. If we compare the rising number of people who are opting for this mode of transport with spots available, the question must be asked as to whether this number of spots is enough’
One neighbouring council has hopped on the front foot when it comes to looking at this issue. Scooter riders in Waverley are in line for free parking after a mayoral initiative was unanimously adopted. Mayor Ingrid Strewe asked the council to investigate doubling parking spaces for motorbikes and scooters within five years as well as making these spaces free saying that ‘Motorbikes and scooters are better for the environment ‘ they use less fuel, emit fewer pollutants and take up less space.’
It is expected the draft strategy will be released for public comment by the City of Sydney shortly.