Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said the council planned to have an e-scooter fleet operating on the city’s streets by the end of the year.

It will join several cities across Australia that have seen the benefits of an e-scooter hire fleet. The vehicles have been a common sight in Brisbane since 2018 and last year Townsville also introduced an e-scooter hire scheme.

“These e-scooters will be a great addition to our city and will offer the ability to move between our business and sporting precincts with ease,” Williams said.

Neuron and Lime, operators that have an established presence in other cities, are understood to have shown interest in expanding to Rockhampton.

The council is hopeful that its embrace of active transport will feed into an ongoing economic development strategy dubbed “Rocky on the Radar”.

Advance Rockhampton executive director Greg Bowden said e-scooters were an “economic growth tool” that connected various urban precincts and served as an alternative to public transport.

“The e-scooters and micro mobility movement is increasing in popularity around the world and across Australia,” Bowden said.

“Cities including Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Townsville, and soon Rockhampton have realised the benefits of an electric hire fleet.”