Food delivery e-bikers targeted in safety push
Willoughby City Council is taking action to address e-bike safety, particularly for food delivery riders, following reports of unsafe riding.
At a council meeting on 24 June, several courses of action were agreed upon following three separate notices of motion addressing the increase in e-bike delivery drivers, the need for infrastructure, education and legislation on e-bike safety and pedestrian safety.
Council’s acting planning and infrastructure director Mitch Noble told NL that ‘reports will be made to the 12 August council meeting which (will) provide a draft program for an e-bike deliveries forum and ‘give consideration to safer footpaths and roads for the Chatswood CBD’.
“Council is planning to make representations to the parliamentary inquiry on the use of e-scooters, e-bikes and related mobility options,” Mr Noble said. “Letters to MPs requesting action on this matter will be sent in the coming days.”
The council will write to the government requesting that current road rules be reviewed to accommodate e-bikes and that police and rangers’ enforcement powers be increased. Currently, rangers’ actions are limited, and the council said that rangers who see a rider on a footpath will request they dismount.
Willoughby MP Tim James is supportive of the council action. Mr James told NL that he was ‘concerned about the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and e-bike users,’ stating that ‘e-bikes should be used responsibly and lawfully to ensure the safety of everyone involved’.
“I have written to the Transport Minister regarding the safety issues and will support council in its endeavours to advocate for safer footpaths,” Mr James said.
The Willoughby e-bike safety push comes after the Northern Beaches Council launched its e-bike safety campaign in May – thought to be the first in the state.
Mr Noble said that e-bike crashes are reported as general bicycle-related incidents, so it was hard to differentiate.
Preliminary data acquired by NL from Transport for NSW showed 11 crashes on Willoughby local government area roads in 2023 involving bicycles, resulting in 12 injuries – including two serious. The figures for serious injury are likely to increase significantly once 2023 data is finalised.