Arabic version: ديريبين تنهي تجربة دراجات وسكوترات لايم الكهربائية

According to ABC News, Darebin Council has voted to end its six-month shared Lime e-bike and e-scooter trial after residents raised complaints about blocked footpaths, incorrect parking and accessibility problems. The scheme operated in the inner-Melbourne municipality’s southern suburbs of Northcote, Fairfield and Alphington.

Council officers recorded 14,725 trips during the trial, averaging 98 trips a day and 2.15 kilometres per trip. They found that 93 per cent of feedback was negative. Mayor Emily Dimitriadis said residents continued to report devices blocking footpaths, travelling on footpaths, being parked incorrectly and being used by riders without helmets.

Parking inspections covered 279 allocated bays, with officers finding untidy parking, including non-compliant, toppled or misplaced devices, at 30 per cent of bays. The council said Lime paid Darebin $18,000, but the trial cost $50,000 to establish and required further spending on administration and management.

Resident Matthew Zammitt, whose petition against the scheme attracted 1,227 signatures, told councillors he had difficulty moving a pram around abandoned e-bikes that blocked footpaths, driveways and train-station entrances. Former mayor Suzanne Newton and councillor Ruth Jelley argued the service had climate and transport benefits, particularly for trips connecting with public transport.

Nearly half of trial trips started or ended at a public transport stop, while 37 per cent were said to replace a car journey. Council officers estimated riders saved about 1.16 tonnes of carbon emissions. Lime’s Asia-Pacific head Will Peters said Darebin had been left with a network that could not connect to the city after Yarra Council ended its e-bike scheme in July, and called for a state-level conversation on shared transport governance in Victoria.