Sydney to add parking bays for shared ebikes to clear blocked footpaths

The New South Wales government will provide $6.6m so Sydney councils can nominate and paint marked parking bays for shared ebikes, with each council eligible for up to $200,000. Operators are funding the Sharing Scheme Grant Program through a 60 cent fee on each shared ebike trip; when the program was announced last year, operators said 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 fleet rose from 13,000 in January to more than 20,000 in May, Transport for NSW said. NSW transport minister John Graham said: “we are not willing to stand around and let the wild west scenes … go on any longer”, adding that “Pedestrians have been crying out for order and for their footpaths back.” The funding is for the 16 councils that now host shared e-bike schemes to deliver marked bays on streets and kerbside zones “in the areas of most conflict and complaint”.

Australia, Sydney

sydney, shared ebikes, parking bays, nsw government, sharing scheme, operator fee, footpaths, john graham, 16 councils, fleet growth