‘Trash problem’: Major issue with Sydney’s share bike boom
Sydneysiders have urged the local council to do something about what they’re calling a “trash problem”. Now, Sydney’s mayor has responded.
If you’ve felt as though you’ve seen an influx in the number of share bikes on Aussie streets recently, you’re not mistaken.
In the City of Sydney council area alone, more than 1.94 million share bike trips were made in 2024 – almost double the previous year.
But, what’s been coined as a convenient and affordable replacement for car travel may now be more of a nuisance than they’re worth, as Lime is set to release a new fleet of bikes into the already cluttered region.
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Sydneysiders have come clean, taking to social media to vent about the ongoing problems share bikes are creating for pedestrians.
One local shared a series of photos in Ultimo, of Lime bikes and Ario bikes taking up space both on the road, and on the footpath, urging Council to take action.
“City of Sydney needs to do something about this,” they said.
Disability activist and wheelchair user Shane Hryhorec also recently shared his gripes to Instagram, noting the impacts this bike dumping has on accessibility.
“I love visiting Sydney, but you’ve got a trash problem. And when I say trash, I mean rental e-bikes dumped all over your footpaths,” he said in his post.
“These photos were all taken in just 15 minutes. One of the bikes even blocked my path, and I had to ask a pedestrian to move it just so I could get through.”
His post also included a call-to-action for Sydney’s Lord Mayor, Clover Moore.
“City of Sydney, please sort out your rubbish problem,” he urged.
“Accessibility isn’t optional, it’s the law.”
Lime, one of the country’s most popular share bike providers, recently shared plans to drop thousands of bikes onto the streets of western Sydney.
And, just this week, Sydney became the first city in the southern hemisphere to roll out their upgraded LimeBike, along with an upgraded LimePrime offering – a subscription allowing members receive unlimited trips anywhere in Sydney for $2.75 per trip, up to 20 minutes, for a flat monthly fee of $4.99.
This has spurred new concerns that streets will become increasingly cluttered with bikes – a seemingly necessary sacrifice made to provide benefits for riders.
However, it appears that City of Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore has heard people’s concerns, telling news.com.au that she wants to see change happen.
“People see the benefits of share bike schemes and in November are getting on share bikes more than 14,000 times a day in the City of Sydney alone,” she said.
“But there are some impacts of share bike schemes that need to be addressed – most notably, they can cause clutter in our public domain and pose a safety risk for people walking.”
While she noted that City of Sydney has no power over the provision, regulation or management of share bike schemes, they are currently working to fix what they can – particularly in regards to parking.
Ms Moore said that in 2024, 133 designated share bike parking areas were established on footpaths and public domain as a ‘stop gap’ measure the City of Sydney could deliver rapidly. But, she added that this did not offer a sustainable solution to share bike parking, instead working to provide a future-proofed fix.
“We are now looking to deliver more designated bike parking areas on-street, where appropriate, with a preference for kerbside space not currently used for other purposes and in areas where share bike use is popular,” she said.
“We implemented our first designated on-street bike parking area in Haymarket and we are expanding the trial to meet the needs of our community. 9 sites are now operational.
“Another 49 have been approved with installation planned to commence in early 2026.”
A bill was introduced to parliament in October, proposing a NSW state government crackdown on share bike operators.
Specifically, under this scheme, the government, alongside local councils, would establish dedicated e-bike parking bays in town centres and near transport hubs. Operators who fail to remove poorly parked e-bikes could also be met with fines of up to $55,000 plus $5,500 for every day they leave them in place.
Ms Moore said that she was looking forward to engaging with the state government to “find a regulatory framework that works for all councils and their communities, share bike companies and the people who use them”.
In the meantime, Ms Moore encouraged Sydneysiders to raise their concerns about share bikes with the companies directly – something Lime agreed with.
In a statement to news.com.au, the transportation company noted that riders found to be doing the wrong thing could face harsh penalties for doing so.
“Lime requires riders to park vehicles appropriately and out of the way of pedestrians and footpaths. At the end of every ride, riders are prompted to take a photograph of their parked vehicle and provided with real-time feedback via an AI-enabled tool to ensure vehicles are parked correctly,” the spokesperson said.
“Lime’s on-street operations teams work to address misparked vehicles.
“Riders found to persistently mispark vehicles can face increasing penalties, including fines, suspension and, ultimately, expulsion from the Lime platform.”
Originally published as ‘Trash problem’: Major issue with Sydney’s share bike boom
