Shared ebikes cluttering Sydney footpaths will be kicked to the kerb in the coming months under funding to establish marked parking bays, the New South Wales government says.
On Tuesday, the state government announced $6.6m in funding for Sydney local councils to nominate and paint dedicated parking areas. Each council will be given up to $200,000.
Operators are paying for the Sharing Scheme Grant Program through a 60 cent fee on each shared ebike trip. When the program was first announced last year, operators including Lime suggested the levy would probably be integrated into existing management fees for ebike users.
The number of shared ebikes in Australia has quadrupled in less than two years, with the vast majority in Sydney. The city’s ebike fleet has surged from 13,000 in January to more than 20,000 in May, according to Transport for NSW.
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, said while the growth of shared schemes was a positive development, “we are not willing to stand around and let the wild west scenes … go on any longer”.
“Pedestrians have been crying out for order and for their footpaths back.”
The government says the funding is for the 16 councils which now host shared e-bike schemes, to deliver marked bays on streets and kerbside zones “in the areas of most conflict and complaint”.
The scheme was announced last year alongside expanded powers for LGAs, which will be rolled out progressively in the coming months.
Councils can decide “no-go’” and “go-slow” zones for shared and private ebikes, and penalise shared ebike operators if parking areas aren’t used, with a maximum penalty of $55,000 plus $5,500 for each day the offence continues.
Multiple councils have already piloted shared parking schemes, including the City of Sydney, North Sydney and Waverley. Transport for NSW has trialled parking zones at nine train and metro stations around Sydney, with space for about 190 ebikes.
The transport secretary, Josh Murray, said the agency was accelerating its own rollout of bays at other transport hubs and stations.
“We’re aiming to have 250 bays available by late this year, with 62 already in delivery,” he said. The government said its trial pointed to marked bays reducing kicked-over bikes and blocked footpaths by half.
The changes are part of a safety crackdown on shared and private ebikes amid a surge in injuries and come after an incident earlier this year when dozens of ebikes swarmed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The government has given authorities powers to seize and crush private ebikes operating at speeds more than 25km/h, but has yet to decide on a minimum age to ride an ebike.
