The Mount Gambier City Council has hit the brakes on its proposed e-scooter fleet after no companies showed interest.

The Public E-Scooter Expression of Interest closed on April 17 and while the documents were downloaded from the SA Tenders website by 21 users, including several companies who operate e-scooter fleets in Australia, no submissions were made.

The council report noted that discussions had by staff with one of the companies, and an expert consultant in the field, indicate that it was likely a commercial decision.

The document said that Mount Gambier’s population and lack of proximity to a major city reduce the economic viability of the proposal and ultimately the e-scooter companies may have decided that at this point in time the financial risk for them was too high.

The report concluded that under the current proposal it was determined by e-scooter operators that it is not currently viable to establish a public e-scooter fleet in Mount Gambier under the current model and recommended to discontinue the proposal.

“Whilst the challenges and strengths of such a trail were received through public consultation with our community, the feedback aligned to the risk management framework’s best practice and safety systems were often inbuilt within public e-scooter fleets and did not present any consideration insurmountable in approaching a trail in Mount Gambier,” Mayor Lynette Martin OAM said.

Councillor Jason Virgo moved a motion to abandon the proposal and Councillor Max Bruin seconded it, with all councillors voting in favour.