Lime scooters a ‘death warrant’ for CityCycle, councillor warns

Brisbane’s contentious CityCycle scheme could be killed off by the booming popularity of Lime scooters, a city councillor has warned.

BRISBANE’S contentious CityCycle scheme could be killed off by the booming popularity of Lime scooters, a city councillor has warned.

It comes as new figures show CityCycle patronage has been dwarfed by the number of commuters turning to Lime’s e-scooters.

People having more scooter accidents

Brisbane one of world’s top adapters

The Courier-Mail can reveal there were 134,755 rides on CityCycle bikes in November and December last year – significantly fewer than the more than 300,000 Lime scooter trips in the past two months.

Councillor Jared Cassidy says Brisbane residents are voting with their feet, choosing scooters over CityCyle bikes. File picture: Richard Walker/AAP

Labor transport spokesman Jared Cassidy said the LNP council administration should be worried about its CityCycle scheme if Lime or other e-scooters proved to be a continuing success.

“(CityCycle) has had dismal ridership over its life ­already and I think Lime scooter or any casual scooter hire scheme will probably sign the death warrant for CityCycle going forward,” he said.

“CityCycle has got a bad name in Brisbane.

“I just think people have voted with their feet, and it’s been to not use it.”

Malgorzata Pasieczna rides a Lime scooter past a rack of CityCycles. Picture: Peter Wallis

Cr Cassidy conceded that Lime scooters were not without issues, but said they were more nimble and easier to use than “big gold heavy bikes”.

He also raised concerns about the 20-year contract the council had entered into with advertising company JC Decaux to deliver the City Cycle scheme, which is due to expire by 2030.

However, Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner returned fire, saying Cr Cassidy needed to stop being a “professional CityCycle hater”.

Pointing to the most recent CityCycle figures, Cr Schrinner said he was confident the scheme would continue to be a popular lifestyle and leisure opportunity.

“CityCycle has skyrocketed in popularity since its launch in 2010, hitting three million trips in December last year,” he said. “In December, when Lime had its first full month of operation in Brisbane, CityCycle recorded 63,112 trips – up from 57,141 in 2017.”

Cr Schrinner also predicted CityCycle’s patronage for January would be greater than the previous year.

“It’s great to see so many Brisbane residents opting to use sustainable transport options, including CityCycle and ‘e-wheeling’,” he said.

Brisbane City Council recently granted Lime a trial permit to operate up to 750 scooters in the city until the end of February.