Aussie council's major crackdown amid common e-bike gripe: 'Huge issue'
Electric bike and scooter popularity is booming in the country and while they're a welcome addition to transport networks in many Aussie cities, they haven't come without problems. Many footpaths and public areas have been left with a tetris-like mess of handlebars and wheels as riders dump their ride after use, and one Aussie council has had enough.
Yarra City Council in Melbourne has now banned the act of leaving an e-bike or e-scooter on a footpath narrower than two metres wide. This, alongside blocking access to buildings or public amenities, falls under inappropriate parking and will be penalised.
"What happens now is that if it's not parked correctly, they effectively can't leave it there as the hiring period continues until it's parked correctly," Yarra City Councillor Sharon Harrison told Yahoo News about riders using Uber-owned Lime or Singapore's Neuron, the providers of public e-bikes and e-scooters in the local government area (LGA). Those who are repeat offenders on Lime bikes can be fined up to $50 by the operator.
The new rules, which were introduced on January 31, hope to incentivise users to park their ride in an appropriate place or they will be slapped with an increased hire fee as the metre will keep running. The LGA has been mapped out and geofence technology used to pinpoint where it is appropriate to park the devices. The council is in the process of installing more designated parking bays at popular areas.
Harrison explained the council has set a plan in motion to begin impounding e-bikes and e-scooters left inappropriately parked — meaning those who own their own will also be unable to dodge the new rules.
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Harrison said the council received a number of complaints from a wide range of people about the dumping of e-bikes and e-scooters, from parents using prams to the elderly and wheelchair users. There has also been reports of fire evacuation routes being blocked.
"There's been a huge issue with them being inappropriately parked... we had to do something because they were literally a danger to people," she said.
Shane Hryhorec, who is a wheelchair user and local resident, pushed for the change and said the issue has been "horrendous" since public operators were introduced.
"It's absolutely crazy this has been allowed to go on for around three years now... one local spoke to me about his fear of using footpaths and told me stories about tripping over them on several occasions," he said. "[It's been] a lawless Wild West for scooter operators."
It seems where ever e-bikes and e-scooters have been introduced in Australia, the "littering" of them has followed. A photo taken in Surry Hills in Sydney showed a footpath overrun with them last July.
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