Randwick Council urges State Government to review rules around e-bike riding and dumping

Dumped e-bikes left on corners and “thrown over cliffs” – with riders accused of speeding through outdoor dining areas – have left locals fed up with an eastern Sydney council begging the government to intervene.

E-bike riders running rampant throughout Sydney’s east, speeding through outdoor dining areas and colliding with elderly pedestrians, have left locals fed up with one council taking their grievances to the state government.

Randwick councillor Carolyn Martin said the hordes of e-bikes dumped across the region were “a complete nuisance”, stating she had “even seen them dumped at the bottom of a cliff”.

“Our suburbs are littered with these eyesores and safety risks that are being dumped by the rider without any concerns or responsibilities,” she said.

“They are being dumped over cliffs, in gardens, on corners … it’s just lazy.

An e-bike delivery driver on the pathway at Coogee Bay Rd

“They're just left everywhere, they’re heavy and locked so to move them is not an easy thing to do.”

Fellow Liberal councillor Christie Hamilton said the push for government action was a “no-brainer”.

“We’ve seen this happen time and time again with different companies coming and going bringing their bikes to our area, no ones picking them up,” she said

“It’s a no-brainer, everyone should support this and put the onus back on the companies, and the state government can’t just allow each council put up a singular motion calling for safer roads.”

A Transport for NSW spokesman said the department was ready to trial designated parking for shared e-bikes in and around 10 Sydney train stations, including Central, Bondi Junction, Newtown and Wynyard.

A pile of e-bikes left discarded in Maroubra.

Cr Martin said she had spoken with two elderly people who had been hit by riders on Coogee Bay Rd, with one suffering an “awful injury” which “took weeks to recover from”.

“My other beef is them being ridden on the footpath, through pedestrians and outdoor diners,” she said.

”On Coogee Bay Rd you’ve got the outdoor dining, which is doing fantastic, but you’ve got people coming up and down and then the delivery drivers come on the footpath and there’s just not enough room.”

The councillor’s motion, unanimously passed in last week’s meeting, called on Transport for NSW to review and update road rules and rollout of an education and safety campaign.

Abandoned e bikes through out Randwick LGA.

The motions also called for council to investigate “company responsibilities in ensuring the timely collection of bikes left in disorderly or unsafe locations” along with ways to “address illegal e-bike use on footpaths”.

Earlier this year City of Sydney made similar pleas for the state government to regulate the e-bike space, by limiting the number of e-bike operators in each local government area and the number of vehicles they are allowed to deploy.

A Transport NSW spokesman said while there were “no current plans to change the rules regarding e-bikes at this point”, the department was “committed to reviewing regulations” following a recent action plan.

“We’ve been working with other NSW Government agencies, local councils, and sharing scheme operators on a framework that would introduce more uniform standards for sharing schemes, including safety and insurance standards,” he said.