I am a daily rider of Melbourne’s rental e-scooters and i am personally concerned about the recent decision by the Melbourne City Council to abruptly end the E-Scooter Trial.

With over 9 million trips taken (Source) the decision to ban negatively impacts thousands people, who rely on e-scooters for their daily commutes, connecting them to public transportation, universities, work, museums, libraries, and parks.

The abrupt decision was made within a 24-hour window by Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece, who appears to be catering to a small but powerful and influential group of property owners in the Hoddle Grid.

With Reece facing re-election, the timing of this decision raises concerns. It was made abruptly and without thorough data analysis, with the justification centered on "your safety"—a reasoning largely based on limited and anecdotal evidence.

This decision also comes at a time when the Melbourne City Council claims to be targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. With millions rides in the last 18 months, it has moved thousands of cars out of the busy city roads and removed hundreds of tonnes of carbon. 

Recognising that there are improvements to be made to the rental e-scooter program, I urge that the decision be reversed and that a compromise incorporating the following actions be adopted:

• Overturn the decision and allow 6 months for the trial to finish. 
• Collect and analyse the data from Lime and Neuron to make better decisions.
• Lime and Neuron to create additional roles to patrol the Hoddle Grid on foot and correct fallen or improperly parked vehicles.
• Geofence additional problem areas.
• Increase the number of "slow zones" that exist in the busiest part of the CBD to limit riders to 12kmph.

With these changes, we can improve the program and ensure it continues to benefit the community while addressing safety concerns.