Many residents across the North Shore and Sydney, including in the Willoughby Local Government Area (LGA), may have noticed the recent proliferation of e-bike and e-scooter sharing services in the area.
E-bikes and e-scooters belonging to retailers of these sharing services such as Lime Bike have become a popular means of short distance travel in urban and city settings. However, across New South Wales and the country, significant challenges are posed to local Councils in ensuring their safe use on our roads and footpaths.
Willoughby City Council is a firm advocate for active and sustainable transport initiatives, with planned outcomes for the advancement of these built into several Council-adopted policies and initiatives, including our Green City Plan, Active and Integrated Transport Advisory Committee, Bike Plan, and Walking and Riding to School and Live Well in Willoughby programs.
Council also recognises that the offerings of privately-owned sharing platforms like Lime Bike can make active and sustainable travel more accessible and more convenient. However, Council also has a responsibility to ensure that such services are delivered in accordance with relevant legislation and in a manner that does not impact the safe use of roads and footpaths by everyone. This is particularly relevant to shared e-bikes and e-scooters which, when not in use, are left unattended in public spaces.
Legislation relevant to this issue includes the Roads Act, the Public Places (Unattended Property) Act, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act, which cumulatively outline a number of responsibilities for private property owners, including those of e-bikes and e-scooters to ensure that their property is not left unattended and does not impede the safe use of public spaces by everyone. This includes a need to ensure that private property does not create unnecessary hazards for people with disability.
Council has been actively engaging in dialogue with Lime Bike to reiterate these requirements and outline our concerns with:
- The use of e-bikes and e-scooters on footpaths
- Parking of e-bikes and e-scooters
- Insurance and liability
The safe use of public spaces and access to local amenity for every resident of Willougby is of paramount importance to us as a Council. Accordingly, we're disappointed and concerned by e-bike and e-scooter sharing platforms' disregard of relevant legislation to date, and our Safe City team will continue to police for breaches of the legislation until such private companies recognise their obligations in relation to the safe use of our roads and footpaths.
We are committed to facilitating and growing active and sustainable transport in Willoughby City and continuing our role in ensuring that its development is done safely, effectively and inclusively.
