E-scooter hire companies have been given 30 days to remove their vehicles from the City of Melbourne municipality after the council scrapped them over safety and compliance concerns.

Providers must stop operations in the area, which includes the CBD, Southbank and Carlton, by September 18.

“Safety remains our number one priority,” Lord Mayor Nick Reece said. “E-scooters are thrown across our footpaths, parks and public spaces, creating trip hazards.

“Residents, visitors and traders have had enough.”  

Cr Reece says the share scheme has left Melburnians “constantly jeopardised” by riders on footpaths, “double-dinking” and people riding without helmets or while affected by alcohol and drugs.

The council was one of three participating in the Victorian government’s shared e-scooter trial from early 2022, alongside City of Port Phillip and City of Yarra.

The state government made the scheme permanent last month, handing authority to individual councils. City of Melbourne says it has the right to withdraw from agreements with providers by giving five days’ notice.

Cr Reece moved an alternative motion at a Future Melbourne committee meeting yesterday to cancel contracts with e-scooter operators Lime and Neuron. The motion was carried 6-4.

Councillor Roshena Campbell said: “We can’t afford to lose a life because there is a form of transport that we’ve had for two years in this city that has been convenient to some. If this is inconvenient to you, I apologise.”

Cr Reece says while the e-scooter scheme has been popular in Melbourne, there have been “serious issues”.

Two years of trials has been “more than enough time” for providers to make necessary improvements, but “we have not seen results”, he says.  

“Councillors have decided it’s time to call an end to this trial. We will continue to encourage our community to take up active forms of transport.”

Private e-scooters are still permitted, as are share scheme e-bikes.

In November, the Australian Lawyers Alliance called for a review of insurance and regulation for e-scooters and a system ensuring those who hire them have appropriate cover.

E-scooter hire companies should be required to offer high-level insurance protecting riders and any injured party, the alliance said. Existing arrangements were “entirely unsatisfactory”. 

People injured by e-scooters could be left unable to recover damages, and riders could face significant compensation claims. E-scooters fell “through the gaps” in insurance and regulatory regimes, the alliance said.

Paris banned hire e-scooters in September last year.