E-scooter hire operators Lime and Neuron withdraw from Yarra in Melbourne

E-scooter hire companies Lime and Neuron say they’ll no longer operate in the City of Yarra in inner Melbourne after the council imposed a 400% increase in fees.

So says ABC News, adding the local council says e-scooter hire will return later this year.

The council says it is disappointed that Lime and Neuron have decided to pull their e-scooters out of Yarra.

“The council is clear that it will not continue to subsidise these services from ratepayers’ money,” it says, adding the Yarra City Council “has gone above and beyond to try and make the scheme work and understands many in the community will be disappointed at this decision”.

“We will work with the operators to transition scooters out of the city in the next few weeks, as well as proceed with the procurement process for a new e-scooters contract,” says the council.

“We are confident that any company who bids will do so knowing the expectations of council and its residents on how the scheme needs to operate.”

Lime and Neuron don’t intend renewing their contracts with the Yarra City Council after it voted for a fee increase for e-scooter hire companies.

Both would have to pay $5 an e-scooter daily, up from $1.

The council says the rise is needed to make up for the $570,000 of ratepayers’ money it costs to clean up e-scooters strewn across footpaths, put in e-scooter parking bays and defend legal action alleging the scheme is a safety hazard.

Safety concerns led to a shared hire e-scooter ban in Melbourne’s central business district (CBD) in August 2024.

E-bikes can still be ridden in Melbourne.

Lime featured in a one-year e-bike trial from December 2020 in the cities of Port Phillip and Yarra in Melbourne and may continue e-bike hire there.