Lord Mayor Robert Doyle threatens to ban dockless bikes in Melbourne

BIKES up trees, on lampposts and on top of portable toilets are causing a “clutter” problem across the city. And Melbourne’s Lord Mayor has had enough.

MELBOURNE Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has threatened to ban the dockless share bikes that are scattered across the city.

“We work hard to keep the city free of clutter. They are clutter and that must be fixed,” Cr Doyle said.

The council and operators of the oBike scheme have been in talks for weeks to fix the problem but Cr Doyle said if no solution could be found they would be axed.

Amsterdam, a city with a rich cycling tradition, this week banned the dockless bikes because they were taking up too many scarce parking spaces.

Hi @obikeau and @yarratrams you might want to collect this bike from stop 126 Montague on the 109 tram line. pic.twitter.com/Nzw1hLPEkt

— threadpaperscissors (@threadpaperscis) July 24, 2017

An oBike stranded on top of portable toilets in Prahran. Pic: imgur

An oBike taped to a lamp post on Dodds St, Southbank. Picture: Martin Sherwood

An oBike left on a tree on Stubbs St, Kensington.

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Cr Doyle said the City of Melbourne may take a similar stance.

“We are working with oBike but if an agreed solution is not found, this is the track we will have to take.’’

Inner-city residents have taken to social media to vent their frustration with the bike-share initiative.

The Singapore-based company launched in Melbourne on June 15, starting in the CBD and spreading from South Yarra to Carlton.

OBike Australia marketing head Chethan Rangaswamy said he was hopeful of finding a solution with the council.

But he said encouraging users to properly store the bikes was crucial.

“We have to have education around how to park the bikes in a specific manner after usage,’’ he said.

He said most cities’ modern transport plans had bike-sharing schemes as part of its mix.

Pedestrians have expressed anger on the oBike Australia Facebook page, leaving a chain of complaints about bikes left cluttering up footpaths and public areas.

Unlike Melbourne Bike Share, which has designated pick-up and drop-off points, oBike works on the premise of dockless locking, meaning bikes can be left anywhere convenient.

But the ride-sharing cycles have been found taped up a Southbank lamppost, left up a tree in Kensington, dumped on an Ascot Vale garage roof and thrown into the Yarra.

OBike has a team designated to fetching the heavy single-speed bikes from inappropriate drop-off locations. It is now offering unlimited free rides in August.

Free rides had initially been introduced from June 15 to June 21, the company’s first week in Melbourne.

OBike has brought competition to a market already struggling to make inroads in Victoria, with the Andrews Government boosting the Melbourne Bike Share to by $4.9 million in April.

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@IanRoyall