The electric scooter revolution in Australia has hit a significant speed bump, with a surge in rental e-bike popularity filling the void. While e-scooters once promised a swift urban commute, a wave of safety concerns and what some are calling a "moral panic" have led to their decline, paving the way for a booming e-bike market.
Sydney is leading this e-bike charge, with the number of these two-wheeled electric vehicles nearly doubling in 2025 as US operator Lime significantly expanded its fleet. This shift is particularly noteworthy because e-scooters were initially faster to gain traction across Australia, with most capital cities permitting them by early 2025. However, the excitement surrounding e-scooters began to wane throughout the year due to mounting safety worries, leading to reduced availability and general unpopularity.
Major players in the e-scooter arena, Neuron and its subsidiary Beam, saw their combined fleets shrink by almost a tenth over the year, now totaling around 12,500 e-scooters across 24 locations. This contraction reflects a broader trend. For instance, Perth removed approximately 1,000 rental e-scooters from its streets following a tragic fatal crash. A subsequent inquiry in Western Australia suggested that e-mobility could be reintroduced, but under stringent regulations.
But here's where it gets controversial... The perception of e-scooters as inherently dangerous seems to be a driving factor. In Bendigo, Beam's 250 scooters were taken off the streets after failing to meet ridership expectations, with fewer than 55,000 trips taken. Similarly, the City of Adelaide reported a dip in ridership for its 2,000-strong fleet, decreasing from 543,000 trips in 2024 to 514,000 in 2025.
Even in Melbourne, Neuron and Lime withdrew their scooters from the Yarra area after the local council increased fees, having already been excluded from the city's central business district in 2024. Stephen Coulter, an industry consultant, pointed to a "moral panic" over safety and injuries as the primary reason for the e-scooter slowdown. He stated, "You’ve had moral panic, which has caused some [local governments] to overreact, like the City of Melbourne, who just withdrew them overnight back in September 2024."
And this is the part most people miss... While e-scooters face challenges, state governments are exploring ways to reintroduce them. Victoria and New South Wales have approved share scheme operators, and Western Australia and Queensland are reviewing state inquiries. In the meantime, residents in Melbourne have found a new favorite: Lime's ebikes. Coulter observed, "Bikes are picking up in the absence of scooters and the operators are becoming better at aligning them with customer need."
Cities that previously focused solely on e-scooters are now embracing ebikes. Hobart welcomed Beam bikes in May, Canberra has opened applications for both ebike and e-scooter operations, and Adelaide is set to follow suit this year. Will Peters, Lime's Asia Pacific head, expressed disappointment over Melbourne's e-scooter ban but is optimistic about expanding their ebike offerings. Lime is currently limited to 1,200 ebikes in inner Melbourne but has recently launched bikes and scooters in the Darebin municipality and is eyeing expansion into nearby Merri-bek.
Lime has experienced its most significant growth in Sydney, where e-scooters are not permitted. Over 2025, the company more than doubled its Sydney ebike fleet to at least 7,000, though industry sources suggest the actual number could exceed 10,000. Lime is actively working to boost ridership in Sydney by introducing redesigned bikes and offering subscriber discounts, while also negotiating to expand its services westward to Parramatta. Peters boldly stated, "How do we make Sydney the best market? I think we can be bigger than London, we can be bigger than Paris."
This mirrors the trend seen in Paris, which, after being the first European city to embrace shared e-scooters, became the first to ban them in 2023. Sydney's lack of e-scooters has similarly fueled the rapid expansion of rental ebikes. Government data indicates that 600,000 NSW residents now use a shared ebike monthly, an increase of 100,000 since October. The City of Sydney reported that shared ebike trips in the CBD nearly doubled in 2025, reaching 3.7 million. This surge in demand has attracted new competitors, with HelloRide operating 3,000 ebikes and Ario introducing a fleet of 2,700 since its entry in late 2024.
Here's a critical distinction: Legal ebikes are permitted for road use and are restricted to speeds of 25 km/h and power of 250 watts. This contrasts with illegal and modified ebikes, which have faced crackdowns due to a nationwide rise in injuries. Preliminary police data from Queensland shows that in 2025, e-scooters and other personal mobility devices were involved in 10 deaths and 440 crashes. In comparison, legal ebikes, both privately owned and rented, were linked to four deaths and 235 crashes.
Adam Rossetto, general manager of Ario, believes that the relative safety of shared ebikes compared to e-scooters has encouraged users to switch. He commented, "[Shared] ebikes are coming back into the fore. They provide a more traditional approach to mobility… that delivers less stupidity, I think, from a section of users."
What are your thoughts? Do you believe the e-scooter "moral panic" is justified, or are regulations the real issue? Share your opinions in the comments below!
