Melbourne bans rental e-scooters over ‘lawless’ riders

Melbourne will banish rental electric scooters after hundreds of serious accidents, drunken riding and a number of deaths.
More than 1,500 for-hire e-scooters will be forced off the streets in Australia’s second-largest city after the city council voted on Tuesday night to abruptly end a 28-month trial that has bitterly divided councillors and residents.
Melbourne’s lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, said that he was “fed up” with the bad behaviour of riders as he moved a motion that will end the city’s contracts with two scooter hire companies.
“After two years I have run out of patience at what I’m seeing on the streets and footpaths of our city,” Reece told the council meeting. “If you stand at the front of this town hall on any night of the week, and you look at what is happening there out in front of our own town hall, it’s shameful.
“There are literally more people disobeying the law on e-scooters than there are actually following the rules — people riding around without helmets, people double-dinking [carrying a passenger], people in groups, riding on the footpath, creating havoc on the footpaths of our city.”
The city first welcomed the scooters in February 2022, saying that it would operate a two-year trial. However, hundreds of accidents since then have sparked complaints and outrage from the public.
One of the city’s largest hospitals, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, published a report in December that found close to 250 e-scooter riders presented at its emergency department with serious injuries over 12 months. A majority involved factors such as intoxication, speeding and not wearing a helmet.
A hospital spokesman said that e-scooter accidents had caused deaths and brain damage, with injuries mainly among younger patients. The hospital estimated the cost of its treatment for those injured in crashes would be more than A$4 million (£2 million) a year.
Reece said that while the contracts with e-scooter operators had six months to go, the council could not wait that long, adding that a “fundamental reset” was needed.
Some dissenting councillors said it was unfair to scrap the scooter contracts when the local government had previously committed to communicate freely and constructively with the operators to resolve concerns.
“To the extent that e-scooters are reducing private vehicle usage and congestion, there is a safety benefit as well as a health benefit and an emissions-reduction benefit,” said Councillor Rohan Leppert.
Privately owned e-scooters can still be ridden within Melbourne.