Streets Alive Darebin statement on end of shared micromobility trial
Streets Alive Darebin is disappointed to see that Darebin Councillors voted to end the shared micromobility trial on 25 August 2026.
The trial was intended to increase active transport usage - which it achieved.
In a report delivered in December 2025, Darebin Council confirmed that active transport trends have gone backwards. This is despite trends reported of an increasing number of people riding e-bikes and e-cargo bikes.
Alongside the Lime trial also ending in Yarra, means people cannot link their journeys to Melbourne and Port Phillip. This removes a transport option for inner city Melbourne residents.
Darebin Mayor, Emily Dimitriadis, gave a 4-minute statement at the end of the debate to criticise the trial and downplay the positive environmental impacts of the trial.
ABC Victoria: Darebin council ends Lime e-bike and e-scooter trial following complaints ‘Councillor Ruth Jelley called on the council to continue the trial, arguing the climate benefits should not be overlooked — council officers found riders saved approximately 1.16 tonnes of carbon emissions.’
"How can we call ourselves climate leaders if we fail to deliver on key actions in our climate emergency plan?" she said.
"We are now falling behind NSW and other cities around the world in supporting micromobility through shared schemes such as this.
"Short-termism is killing our climate leadership ambitions, and it's also killing our planet."
The Council report noted that nearly 15,000 trips were taken on the shared hire e-bikes and e-scooters during the 6-month trial. A large proportion of trips were used to connect to public transport, with a surprisingly high number of trips taken at night.
Despite support for well-designed shared micromobility schemes from independent organisations including Infrastructure Victoria, Victoria is lagging behind NSW.
The Victorian Government needs to do more to enable local councils to install dedicated parking bays to help manage issues with rental e-bikes and e-scooters cluttering footpaths.
Streets Alive Darebin wants to see the same level of scrutiny for access applied to vehicles, whether they are cars, wheelie bins, or even shopping trolleys, when they block pedestrian access on footpaths and park across driveways.
Streets Alive Darebin suggests that converting a small number of on-road car parking spaces to shared micromobility parking bays would help deliver the benefits the community clearly wants to see: clear footpaths and a safe way to get around their neighbourhood.
The Darebin trial showed that 37% of trips replaced a car trip - logically this means less pressure on on-street car parking, so removing one or two parking bays in activity centres and near train stations, tram stops and bus stops would have little impact while delivering greater benefits through transport choice.