Melbourne officials vote to ban rental escooters

People ride escooters in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) on Aug 14, 2024. The City of Melbourne council will ban the hire escooters from the city's CBD citing safety concerns due to the bad behaviour of riders not wearing helmets, riding on footpaths, carrying more than one passenger, leading to over 860 collisions and seven fatalities in the past three years. — AFP

MELBOURNE: Melbourne has become the latest city to ban rental escooters, abruptly moving to end a trial contract with two firms after a community revolt.

After a six-to-four council vote late Aug 13, city authorities said they would give operators Lime and Neuron 30 days to rid the city centre of the two-wheeled contraptions.