PENSIONER Jim Lamb forked out $800 for a second-hand electric scooter less than a fortnight ago to save money on spiralling petrol costs.
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The 70-year-old is this week reconsidering his transport future.
And he is not alone.
Port Macquarie police officers have advised people to swap their electric scooters for bicycles or motorcycles following a NSW Supreme Court ruling last week against a rider.
The woman was convicted for riding an unregistered electric scooter at Nyngan, about 600km west of Sydney.
Port Macquarie police are issuing a warning to electric scooter riders for their first offence, but will subsequently hand out $477 fines for using an unregistered vehicle.
Riders also will be hit with fines starting at $397 if they don't have a motorcycle licence.
Mr Lamb said he empathised with the police but he was taking up the issue with politicians Mark Vaile and Rob Oakeshott in a search for answers.
"I am a law-abiding citizen who has never had a conviction in my life," he said.
"I cannot ride the bike up the hills of Port Macquarie without assistance of the battery power as I am 70 years old."
Mr Lamb, who has a motorcycle licence, rides his electric scooter in Port Macquarie every day to go to lawn bowls and the gym.
He uses a small amount of electricity to recharge the battery.
Mr Lamb said: "How can I afford to run the car with the high cost of petrol when on a pension?
"Do I now become an unhealthy couch potato costing the taxpayer a lot of money in the future with health problems?"
Mr Lamb said the RTA advised him on Tuesday the electric scooter did not need registering and he did not need a motorbike licence.
But an RTA spokeswoman told the Port News that electric scooters were classed as a motorised device, all of which must be registered for on-road use unless they were exempt.
Electric scooters were not exempt and could not be registered, the spokeswoman said, because they did not have a compliance plate certifying they met design and safety standards.
Port Macquarie MP Rob Oakeshott said respecting the law was important.
A Supreme Court ruling on e-bikes had recently been given, and therefore the police were enforcing this ruling, he said.
"However, in the grand scheme of issues confronting police and the community, I would have thought this ranks pretty lowly as an issue of concern to authorities," he said.
"In fact, e-bikes should even be considered as a healthy, climate-friendly altern- ative to the car, so the law, with all due respect, can at times be an ass, and we will be letting the Minister for Roads (Eric Roozendaal) know this."