Melbourne Says “No More” to E-Scooter Rentals, Citing Safety Concerns
The Australian city of Melbourne has decided to ban electric scooter rentals, citing safety concerns after a rise in accidents and complaints, CNN reports.
The city council voted on Tuesday to end contracts with its two e-scooter operators, Lime and Neuron, giving them 30 days to remove their vehicles from the streets.
“This was an opportunity to end the havoc on Melbourne’s footpaths and make our city safe again,” Mayor Nicolas Reece told a press conference.
Melbourne’s brief romance with e-scooters began in 2022, when the Victoria state government launched a two-year trial, touting the scooters as an “accessible, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to travel.” The trial proved popular, with an average of 7,800 daily trips taken on micromobility vehicles, including 6,800 on e-scooters.
The government also hailed the initiative for reducing carbon emissions by over 400 tons in the past two and a half years. However, the popularity of this new mode of transportation came with an unwelcome side effect – increased accidents and injuries.
A report released by the Royal Melbourne Hospital in December 2023 revealed 256 e-scooter-related injuries, including a fatal crash. The report urged the city to improve safety measures for e-scooter users, highlighting the fact that these vehicles are often available for hire without a license and can travel at speeds of up to 25 kilometers per hour.
Melbourne is not alone in its struggle with the impact of e-scooter rentals. Paris, once a major e-scooter hub in Europe, banned them in 2023. Copenhagen banned them in 2020, only to reintroduce them the following year with stricter rules. Barcelona has partially banned them in historic parts of the city since 2016. In London, private e-scooters remain illegal on public roads, though trials with three operators have been ongoing since mid-2021.
Rome faced a similar challenge in 2022, leading city officials to implement new rules to manage the impact of e-scooters on public spaces. The city also faced an incident that year when two Americans were fined for throwing rental scooters down the Spanish Steps, causing significant damage to the historic landmark.
