When it comes to wheels, it’s hard to deny that rented e-scooters are among the most divisive modes of transportation in the world right now.
The micromobility machines have become a common sight on major city streets around the globe in recent years, often praised for being an efficient and sustainable way for people to get around.
But their presence has also raised cries for tighter controls, thanks to an increase in accidents and complaints that they’re causing chaos on sidewalks and streets.
Officials in the Australian city of Melbourne have decided to take things even further by banning electric scooter rentals altogether, citing safety concerns following hundreds of complaints and accident reports as the reason for the move.
On Tuesday, Melbourne’s city council voted to end contracts with its two e-scooter operators, Lime and Neuron, giving them 30 days’ notice to remove their vehicles.
“This was an opportunity to end the havoc on Melbourne’s footpaths and make our city safe again,” Melbourne Mayor Nicolas Reece reportedly said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“I’ve heard in recent days from residents, from traders, from visitors to Melbourne, literally begging us to bring the trial to an end to make our city safe again.”
Melbourne began its short-lived love affair with e-scooters in 2022, when the Victoria state government kicked off a two-year trial, calling them an “accessible, environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to travel.”
According to the city’s “ride report”, an average of 7,800 daily trips were made on micro-mobility vehicles, including 6,800 on e-scooters, in Melbourne in recent years.
Meanwhile, the trial has helped curb the city’s carbon emissions by more than 400 tons in the last two and a half years, according to a government statement released earlier this month.
But the popularity of this relatively new form of transportation has also come with increased accidents and injuries.
The Royal Melbourne Hospital released a report in December 2023 that cited 256 e-scooter-related injuries – including a fatal crash – and urged the city to improve safety measures for e-scooter users. Often available for hire without a license, they can travel up to a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour.
Now, it appears a battle between government officials might be shaping out.
On Wednesday, Jacinta Allan, premier of Victoria, said that the state may intervene in response to the city’s decision, making it clear this is one debate that won’t go away any time soon.
Global bans and crackdowns
Melbourne isn’t the only major city having second thoughts about the benefits of e-scooters.
Paris, once one of the biggest e-scooter-riding cities in Europe, voted to ban rented electronic scooters in 2023.
Copenhagen banned them in 2020, then reintroduced them the following year, but with strict new rules. Barcelona has partially banned them in historic parts of the city since 2016. In London, privately owned e-scooters remain illegal for use on public roads, but public trials have been running with three operators since mid-2021.
In 2022, Rome’s relationship with e-scooters faced a moment of reckoning, with city officials forced to implement new rules to lessen their impact on the public. The issue of heritage protection also came into play that year, when two Americans were fined around $800 for throwing rental scooters down the Spanish Steps, causing about $26,000 worth of damage to the fragile marble.
And this month, the dangers of mixing alcohol and e-scooters made headlines in Seoul, where K-pop megastar Suga apologized after reportedly being caught riding an electric scooter while under the influence of alcohol.
The singer, who is a member of Korean boyband BTS, said he was “heavy-hearted and sorry” in a post on online fan community platform Weverse.
“Last night, I drank while having dinner, and returned home riding an electric scooter. I easily thought it was a short distance and was unaware of the fact that you cannot ride an electric scooter when under the influence of alcohol, and therefore I violated the Road Traffic Act,” the post read.
“I fell down by myself while parking the electric scooter in front of the gate of my house, and when a police nearby measured my alcohol level, I was fined and my license has been revoked,” the 31-year-old singer added.
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