The Australian city of Melbourne has banned the rental of electric scooters, with officials saying they pose an unacceptable safety risk.
The council has done a U-turn after first welcoming the scooters in February 2022, saying they would be on a two-year trial.
However, hundreds of accidents since then have sparked complaints and outrage from the public.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor says he is “tired” of the bad behavior of some scooter users.
“There are too many people [are] Ride on the sidewalk. People don’t park correctly. They were tilted and scattered across the city like confetti, trash, and posing a tripping hazard. Tell local radio station 3AW.
Melbourne is the latest city in the world to remove rental scooters, which can travel at speeds of up to 26 km/h (16 mph), after a brief period of operation. Last September, the French capital Paris outlawed these practices – and Mr Rees said he wanted to replicate the “Paris option”.
On Tuesday night local time, city councilors voted 6-4 to ban the scooters almost immediately.
Operators Lime and Neuron have been ordered to remove the scooters within 30 days.
The companies, which have six months left on their vehicle operating contracts, have been campaigning hard in recent weeks, urging users to petition the commission.
Both companies said they have invested heavily in recent months to improve safety and regulations around scooter use, with Neuron saying it plans to install artificial intelligence cameras on scooters to prevent abuse.
A spokesman for the company on Tuesday condemned the city council’s blanket ban, saying it had been discussing measures with city officials such as limiting scooter use to less congested areas of the city or creating cycling zones.
“This goes beyond the reforms announced by the state government,” Neuron’s Jayden Bryant told Australian media earlier.
“It’s strange that [a different] Proposals put forward to introduce new e-scooter technology could turn into proposals for a ban.
Since the trial started in February 2022, around 1,500 Lime and Neuron scooters have been distributed across the city.
Melbourne City Council has previously reported that the scooters have reduced the city’s carbon emissions by more than 400 tonnes and encouraged more people to use public transport.
But there is also growing evidence that the plan is flawed. The Royal Melbourne Hospital, one of the city’s main hospitals, released a report in December 2023 that found nearly 250 motorcyclists were injured in emergency departments in 2022. and other factors.
A hospital spokesman said that electric scooter accidents have even caused death and brain damage, and the injured are mainly young patients.
