'What a wonderful thing': Wollongong's e-scooters get the OK from George Lasek

The Wollongong man was headed out for his morning constitutional when the Neuron e-scooters caught his eye.

"I walked down to North Beach and saw them there. I thought 'I was here yesterday and I don't remember seeing them'.

That's because the e-scooter fairies scattered 300 of the mini machines across the city overnight.

Read more: Your questions about the e-scooter trial answered

Wollongong is part of a state government trial to determine if e-scooters are a safe and viable form of transport and if they can be integrated in or travel options.

The scooters can be ridden on local roads that have a speed limit of 50kms or less. They can also be ridden on shared paths and bike lanes but not on footpaths.

Mr Lasek, who has used similar scooters in Chile and Canada, was impressed at the self-regulation on Wollongong's popular morning walk - the Blue Mile.

"It's like a low-speed zone and that makes sense. Then when you get on the bike path you can get up to 20 kilometers an hour," Mr Lasek said.

And the all-important question about cost?

"It's a bargain. It's $1 to unlock the scooter and then 51 cents a minute after that," he explained.

"So for me, it was probably about $5 this morning."

As we parted ways at the bottom end of Crown Street mall where a selection of scooters were lined up awaiting riders, Mr Lasek was deep in conversation explaining the simplicity of use to another potential rider.

"It's so simple - just scan the QR code and download the app ...

"Go and enjoy The Blue Mile - it's beautiful, easy to log on - really, really simple.

"What a wonderful thing."