Mooloolaba’s traffic woes have prompted a local family to launch a new transport service for people to scoot around the tourism precinct.
Oggy E-Scooters has hit the streets of Mooloolaba and Maroochydore and provides rideshare electric scooters similar to Beam and Neuron in Brisbane.
Husband and wife Kate and David Ogg, who have four children, said they wanted to help reduce traffic congestion and parking problems that have been ruining people’s experiences in Mooloolaba and affecting businesses.
“My husband David and I are locals who’ve been experiencing the slow but sure increase in traffic congestion and parking woes over the last decade, and decided to do something about it in 2020,” Mrs Ogg said.
“Oggy Scooters provide a way for people to get around without needing the car, and therefore a car park.
“Our overarching desire is to reduce the amount of cars on our roads, allow people to get where they want to go without stressing out in their cars, and increase visits to businesses that otherwise couldn’t happen because of a lack of parking.
“I tell you, the amount of times I had to miss out on Rice Boi because I couldn’t park still makes me cry.”
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Parking in Mooloolaba has been a problem for two decades and it’s estimated there was a shortfall of some 2000 carparks in the area.
The Sunshine Coast Council’s new multi-storey paid carpark recently opened on Brisbane Road with 700 spaces, going some way to address the congestion.
But parking time limits have also been reduced to as little as one hour across many areas of the popular tourism precinct.
Mrs Ogg said the scooters offered a sustainable, accessible and affordable transport option
in the busiest areas of the Coast.
“The pain felt by small businesses when potential customers had to drive away due to a lack of parking spurred us into action, and the micro-mobility market looked like a perfect solution.”
Key features of the new scooters is that they can only be used during the day and have in-built speed limits.
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They can also only be hired and returned at a ‘hub’ – unlike other services which allow people to randomly dump the vehicles when they’re done.
“We researched extensively, and found the major disadvantages to other rideshare scooter operations were the fact that the vehicles were dumped haphazardly, that they were ridden dangerously at night, and that they were used at high speeds in congested areas,” Mrs Ogg said.
“Our business model has sought to remove all those negatives by allowing scooter use only during daylight hours, that hiring can only begin and end at a ‘hub’ and we’ve also added slow speed zones through our software geofencing to try and limit dangerous riding.”
During the pilot program, 50 Oggys will be placed between Mooloolaba and Maroochydore.
HOW DO I FIND AN OGGY?
Download the app via Google play or the Appstore to get started. You can then locate the fleet and find the closest Oggy to you. Rides can only be started and finished from an authorised Hub:
- The Deck on Parkyn/Mooloolah River Fisheries (the very far end of Parkyn Parade),
- The Wharf Precinct
- Sunshine Coast Afloat (behind Bridge Seafoods, across from Incana Court carpark)
- The Black Bunny Café at Alexandra Headland
- The Alex Surf Club (To be confirmed)
- McDonalds Maroochydore
- Sealife Mooloolaba
Ogg is in talks with several other stakeholders about further hubs. All hubs have
the benefit of advertising via push notifications to the riders that are in proximity to them – for free.
WHEN WILL THEY OPERATE?
You can only #rideoggy during daylight hours.
WHAT ABOUT HELMETS AND SPEED LIMITS?
Helmets are provided and are obviously essential, and the sign-in process on the app will remind riders of this to encourage maximum compliance.
In Australia the speed limit for electric scooters on footpaths is 25km/hr. Oggy has reduced this to 15km/hr in areas of heavy pedestrian use. Oggys are also blocked in problematic areas such as Alex skate park.
You can start the Oggy up for $1 and then 30c per minute thereafter. If you are going out for dinner or need to pause your ride for some reason but still wish to reserve your Oggy then you will be charged the reduced rate of 7c per minute. We will run promos for special ride deals so keep an eye out for these on the app.
HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE?
Oggy recommends you are at least 18 years of age to #rideoggy however by law you must be 12+ years of age if accompanied by a parent / guardian or 18+ years of age if riding alone.
HOW FAST DO THEY GO?
Oggy’s can travel up to 25km per hour but will have restricted speed limits in high traffic areas. When you ride into one of these areas, the scooter will automatically throttle down.
WHERE CAN AN OGGY BE USED?
If an Oggy moves outside a service area, the throttle will flick off, and in some instances an alarm will sound also.
The rider will need to walk the Oggy back into the service area in order to continue their ride.
The same programming is what will tell riders where to find an Oggy, where to park it, where they aren’t allowed to go, and where they need to go slow.
