EV or not EV: that is the question

The difference between a dream and reality. 

Tesla is in the throes of opening a showroom in Canberra and locals are checking the goods, dreaming of owning an electric. A big QR code on the Civic shopfront invites for a test drive.

The reality is that the cheapest Tesla available in Canberra is $62,517 when the average cost of a vehicle in Australia is $40,729

Xioami's latest has roughly
the same specs as the hire eScooters

Canberra's electric vehicle of choice trundles by the showroom in the photo. The Neuron Mobility and Beam Mobility companies have put nearly 1,500 rental e-scooters on the city's streets since November 2020.  Inexpensive and popular, these take advantage of Canberra's broad walkways and cycleways to make "last kilometer" travel easy.

eScooter adoption has not been without trouble. A lot of people have landed themselves in hospital so the special laws governing their use are being modified to better deal with drunks and drug-effected. But then most of the accidents have proved to be single persons...inebriated scooter riders aren't as much of a danger to other road users or pedestrians.

Overall the scheme has proved to be good way of getting people out of cars. Approval has just been given for the hire scheme to be extended to the other Canberra city centres. 

Private ownership is also possible.  Models sell online and through retailers. However the hire scooters have continued to be preferred because they don't need to be secured and tend to be magically nearby and fully charged when you find yourself late for a meeting.