Victoria will lift a ban on personal electric scooters as part of an extension of the divisive trial in which thousands of hire scooters have taken to inner-Melbourne streets.
Roads Minister Melissa Horne will on Thursday announce a six-month extension to the trial with scooter hire companies Lime and Neuron, which have deployed 2500 scooters across the Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip council areas.
Personal e-scooters, like this one, will no longer be illegal from April 5. Credit:Scott McNaughton
Victoria classifies privately owned e-scooters as unregistered vehicles and riding them in public can attract a fine of up to $925. But Horne will announce that the devices, which are already widely sold by major retailers, will be allowed on public roads from April 5 under the expanded trial.
“We know e-scooters are popular with many Victorians – so we’re extending the trial in Victoria under these strict regulations to ensure people travel responsibly and safely,” Horne said in a statement.
Advocates say e-scooters can play a positive role in Melbourne’s transport landscape by providing a low-emissions alternative to cars on short journeys, and fill gaps in the public transport network.
But the Lime and Neuron trial has been marred by illegal footpath riding and dumped scooters blocking walkways, which critics say endangers pedestrians – particularly the elderly and disabled.
At least two people were killed in crashes involving private e-scooters in Victoria last year, and data from Monash University’s Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit shows more than 400 people admitted to hospital in 2021/22.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force had “only just been provided detail about the extension” of the trial and “will now take the time to understand the changes”.
A speed limit of 20km/h will apply to all e-scooters under the trial and devices capable of travelling faster than 25km/h will remain illegal. That will rule out some models available for sale which can reach up to 75km/h.
Riders must also wear a helmet, adhere to the same alcohol and drug restrictions as motorists and not carry passengers. The minimum age for riders in the trial will be lowered from 18 to 16.
Private scooters will be permitted on roads with speed limits of up to 60km/h (an increase from 50km/h in the trial), in bike lanes and on shared paths, but remain illegal of footpaths.
Lime’s Australian boss, Hugo Burt-Morris, told The Age earlier this year that customers rode on the footpath illegally because Melbourne does not have enough bike lanes and they did not feel safe being on the road.
He also said the city needed dedicated parking spaces for hired and private scooters to stop them being left blocking footpaths.
Lime and Neuron started operating in January last year under a 12-month trial, and have recorded 3.7 million trips in Melbourne. The Andrews government already extended their trial by two months earlier this year, saying it wanted to collect more data about how the devices were being used.
Horne said the government would carry out further work through the new six-month extension to understand product safety standards, rider education and if fines for illegal behaviour were suitable.
There have also been calls for a TAC-style no-fault insurance scheme to cover anyone injured on or by an e-scooter, after it emerged Lime and Neuron’s insurance is void if a crash occurs while a customer is riding on a footpath or using the device illegally.
A government spokesperson said private scooters would not be covered by a public insurance scheme, which is also the case for bicycles.
Cities around the world are grappling with how to regulate scooter hire companies in response to concerns about public safety and amenity.
Norwegian capital Oslo has banned rentals at night in an attempt to reduce drunken crashes, Rome has a 6km/h speed limit in shared pedestrian areas, while Paris has limited them to 10km/h and will hold a vote this Sunday on whether to ban them completely.
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