Brisbane residents’ fury at Lime scooter return

Lime Scooters have been back in Brisbane for less than a fortnight and already residents have hit out as they clog up footpaths and end up in the river.

Brisbane locals have expressed their frustration at the return of Lime scooters and e-bikes. Picture: Supplied

Brisbane locals have expressed their frustration at the return of Lime scooters and bikes stating the green mode of public transport is like a “plague”.

Lime relaunched in Brisbane on Monday, July 22, bringing with it a fleet of 2500 electric scooters and 500 electric bikes. But Brisbane residents said they have already had enough.

With the news spreading like wild fire, one local named the relaunch “the Lime plague”.

Hundreds more commented their frustration at the relaunch, stating they had already spotted scooters floating in the river or left scattered on pathways. A local posted a photo on Reddit of a scooter they spotted in the river captioned, “didn’t take long”.

“Haven’t seen one (Lime scooter) standing up yet,” one person said in response to the photo.

“I’m confused by “didn’t take long”. These rental scooters have been getting thrown in the river since day one,” another person replied.

Brisbane residents have already spotted scooters in the Brisbane River. Picture: Reddit.

Many people shared their distress and concern over the impact “dumping” Lime scooters and e-bikes on pathways could have on disabled pedestrians.

“Walking through Portside today and there are lime scooters everywhere. Ones pushed over into the grass, scooters parked right in front of storefronts obstructing walkways,” one local commented.

“Once again these machines are parking in areas that would seriously impact the blind and visually impaired.”

“I am a disability support worker, these things impact any number of people with disabilities. It is selfish to allow them to use paths and other pedestrian thoroughfares. Please make them go away Schrinner,” another wrote.

Others complained about the number of scooters and bikes haphazardly left on footpaths.

“City CBD is worse, scooters and e-bikes dumped everywhere … George Street must have over 100 scooters and bikes dumped on the footpaths,” a Brisbane resident said.

“Yeah, was walking to the Lutwyche Road bus stop here in Windsor to go to Chermside and there were a bunch of Lime scooters just standing or dumped around the bus shelter. They were so close that it was a hazard for people walking around them to catch the bus,” a second said.

“They’re strewn everywhere causing trip and collision hazards. They block paths. They are a danger for people simply walking on a foot path. Additionally those who use them aren’t trained so they are a risk to pedestrians and cars,” another wrote.

Lime scooters first hit the Brisbane streets in 2018, attracting more than 100,000 local users in three months.

The relaunch came three years after Lime was squeezed out of the Brisbane market when competitors Beam and Neuron were granted contracts to operate in the city by the Brisbane City Council.

Brisbane locals have expressed their frustration at the return of Lime Scooters and bikes. Picture: Facebook

A Lime spokesman said the company has zero tolerance for unsafe riding or anti-social behaviour.

“For those users who continue to do the wrong thing, we have a number of mechanisms in place to monitor unsafe behaviour and this may result in a ban on your account,” the spokesman said.

“Lime uses geo-fencing technology to virtually manage our service areas.

“This allows us to prohibit vehicles from entering areas, ensure vehicles adhere to the set speed limit and slow them down when they enter certain zones.

“All Lime vehicles have built-in GPS technology that allows their location to be tracked at all times.”

Brisbane City Council has been contacted for comment.