Scooters aren’t the problem, it’s Melbourne that needs to change

In the interests of transparency, I have a confession to make. I love rental e-scooters.

I usually try to keep my personal political opinions out of this column, instead using it as a place to analyse and explain the context of decisions made by our pollies.

But on this, I think it’s only fair that I declare my bias on e-scooters, which I adore (much to the amusement of my colleagues).

Sure, I understand the arguments against them. The risk-taking behaviours and the ability for scooters to block city streets and spook pedestrians.

But all those concerns are left behind when you flick up the stand (not an easy task in itself) and zip past gas-guzzling cars or packed trams filled with commuters as you zoom up the Collins Street hill.

The thrill, the smugness, the rare sense of fun it offers a suburban mum inching closer to 40.

All I am saying is don’t knock it until you try it.

And yet, Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece hit the brakes on e-scooters by launching a motion to end the council’s contracts with operators Lime and Neuron this week.

“I’ve heard in recent days from residents, from traders, from visitors to Melbourne, literally begging us to bring the trial to an end to make our city safe again. And that’s what the council voted to do last night,” he said on Wednesday.

Reece argued the micromobility technology was “shameful”, which came as a shock to many, most notably the Allan Labor government, which had invited the mayor to partake in a press conference just three weeks ago where public and active transport minister Gabrielle Williams declared “e-scooters are here to stay”.

A promise that didn’t even last a month before it began unravelling. Alas, nothing focuses the mind like an election.

Interestingly, the decision pits Reece against Premier Jacinta Allan, who has urged council and the lord mayor to reconsider its “interesting” decision.

Allan said she hoped it would not come to the state government intervening but certainly didn’t rule it out.

As Labor mates, Reece and Allan have known each other for decades, working alongside each other in the Brumby government, when Reece was director of policy in the premier’s office, and she was a junior cabinet minister.

Reece insists his change of heart was driven by frustration with recalcitrant riders, not his main opponents in October’s council elections, who had already taken a hardline stance against e-scooters.

On misbehaviour, it’s hard to disagree with Reece and the other councillors who argued in favour of the ban.

A few weeks ago, while running late for the Pies v Blues game due to a cancelled train, my husband and I fired up the Neuron app and picked up two scooters near Parliament Station to zip over to the ’G.

It was near the intersection of Lansdowne Street and Wellington Parade that I noticed, not only were we the only ones in the fleet wearing helmets, but soon enough we were the only ones still obeying the red light.

Perhaps it’s Melburnians who need to change.

My love of the e-scooter started in the rule abiding and heavily government-subsidised city of Canberra. The sparsely populated bush capital with its well-maintained paths and dearth of public transport options is perhaps the perfect place for a scooter-rental program.

Melbourne, I grant you, really is the wild west.

Although I question whether scooters bring any more havoc to the city than food delivery drivers, trams rattling through pedestrian zones or government-subsidised mega utes that now clog our streets.

With an election around the corner, councillors admit they have been inundated with complaints about scooter safety, but also admit it’s difficult to gauge voter sentiment on the technology given businesses and non-residents are expected to make up as much as 60 per cent of voters in October.

But council candidates and strategists surmise that micromobility technology remains more popular with visitors to the CBD, not the good folk enrolled to vote.

Beyond the obvious health and safety concerns, sources admit there had also been some teething issues with the GIS tracking technology, which can be used by operators to limit problems like dumping scooters in the street and speeding.

But instead of tackling the need for new safety technology, council ploughed ahead with a motion to break the city’s e-scooter contracts.

But before we collectively delete the Lime and Neuron apps from our smartphones, a handful of government sources have urged restraint, suggesting that the truce between local and state government might only be temporary. The government might be less willing to bite its tongue after the council elections.

Annika Smethurst is state political editor.

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