If you fancy hopping on an electric scooter after a big night on the town, you might soon be forced to think again.
Transport officials are considering imposing blocks and curfews on public electric scooters out the front of popular night spots in an effort to prevent intoxicated patrons attempting to make off on the potentially dangerous contraptions.
A Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate executive branch manager, John Bowdery, on Friday told a Legislative Assembly inquiry highly targeted curfews and no-park zones were being considered.
"There's potential consideration around curfews in certain areas, again to prevent, as an example, starting a trip directly outside of Mooseheads late on a Friday night where there's a high chance somebody might be intoxicated," Mr Bowdery said.
"The motive there is not to prevent people from accessing the service and the devices, but it's to remove the temptation from somebody who, left to their own devices, would probably jump in a cab, and that might be the best solution for them."
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Mr Bowdery said the directorate was also working with local community groups to lay the groundwork for the Canberra-wide expansion of the public e-scooter scheme.
"The key issue for the rollout will be repeating that engagement with local community areas, finding out where there are any issues, avoiding potential challenges such as funnelling these devices onto main arterial roads where we don't want them," he said.
Transport Minister Chris Steel in October last year said the government would explore a phased expansion of the e-scooter scheme, set to cover Canberra by the end of 2022.
"We understand that some Canberrans do hold safety concerns about e-scooters, and through our response to the review we are acting on that feedback," Mr Steel said.
The government introduced new tough new drink-riding laws for e-scooters into the Legislative Assembly, due to be debated this year. If passed, drunk riders could face $3200 fines.
