I like e-bikes. I use mine daily.
I don’t leave it blocking footpaths, and I don’t ride it on footpaths.
In 2020, Yarra Council entered into a trial agreement with Lime to operate a shared e-bike service across the municipality.
Over the course of that trial:
* 425,000 trips were taken, averaging about 200 trips per day
* 200 daily users is about 0.2% of Yarra’s population;
* The average trip was about 1.6 kilometres and lasted less than 10 minutes;
Shared e-bikes have provided a transport option for many people.
But for every person who tells me they enjoy using them, I’ve heard countless complaints about bikes being left across footpaths, obstructing access, or being ridden where they shouldn’t be.
Importantly, under the trial agreement, Council did NOT receive any share of the revenue generated by the service.
At the same time, Council incurred substantial direct and indirect costs responding to complaints, managing the trial and addressing community concerns.
In December 2025, a majority of Councillors (Gomez, Jolly, Aston, Ho, Davies, Harrison and McKenzie) voted to test the market and seek better terms for the operation of a shared e-bike service in Yarra.
No suitable proposal was received.
On 14 July 2026, Councillors subsequently voted to bring the trial agreement to an end.
That decision was NOT a vote against e-bikes.
It was a vote against an arrangement that transferred costs and risks to Yarra ratepayers without compensation.
Yarra Council remains open to working with any shared e-bike operator willing to provide a service on terms that are fair to ratepayers, supports public safety and community concerns, and ensures an appropriate level of accountability.
Councillor Ken Gomez