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Melbourne has banned the rental of electric scooters because they pose an “unacceptable” safety risk to the public.
The decision comes two years after the Australian city initially introduced the airlines on a trial basis in February 2022.
“Too many people ride on the sidewalks,” Mayor Nicholas Reece told local radio station 3AW.
He is fed up with the bad behaviour of some scooter riders, which, in his opinion, is increasingly leading to accidents.
The scooters are scattered throughout the city “like confetti” and pose a risk to public safety, the mayor said.
The growing popularity of electric scooters is reflected in the number of injuries reported by the city’s hospitals.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital stated in a 2023 report that its emergency department treated nearly 250 patients who had been injured while riding scooters in the previous year.
The city council voted 6-4 on Tuesday to ban the rental scooters and ordered operators Lime and Neuron to remove them within 30 days, even though they still have six months left on their contracts.
The two operators have deployed around 1,500 scooters in Melbourne since trial operations began in February 2022, the BBC reported.
Jayden Bryant, Neuron’s local managing director, claimed the “drastic” decision was made without “proper discussion” and told AFP: “If given the opportunity, we could quickly implement a range of measures to address many, if not all, of the councillors’ concerns.”
The ban could lead to legal action against the council, with a Lime spokesperson saying the company had “taken nothing off the table”.
Electric scooters are considered a revolution in transportation as they allow commuters to move around the city cost-effectively and with low carbon emissions.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has not ruled out intervening to force Melbourne City Council to reconsider and lift the ban. The Guardian reported.
Asked about Mr Reece’s “change of heart” less than a month after he endorsed e-scooters, Ms Allan said: “The Lord Mayor was there talking about the three million journeys saved across the city by e-scooters and the role they play in the public transport network.”
“That’s why, as part of our evaluation of the tests underway in various parts of the state, we recognized that e-scooters play a role, but also that the safety framework needs to be strengthened.”
