E-Bike Rental Market Accelerates Across Australian Cities
The shared mobility landscape in Australia is undergoing a significant transformation, with rental e-bikes surging in popularity as e-scooter hire operations face substantial declines. This shift comes amid growing safety concerns that some industry observers have labeled a "moral panic" surrounding e-scooter usage.
Sydney Leads the E-Bike Revolution
Sydney has emerged as the epicenter of Australia's e-bike rental boom, with the number of vehicles on city streets nearly doubling during 2025. This dramatic increase was fueled by US operator Lime deploying thousands of additional e-bikes across the metropolitan area. According to Guardian Australia analysis of public data, Lime more than doubled its Sydney fleet to at least 7,000 e-bikes over the course of 2025, though industry sources suggest the actual figure could exceed 10,000.
The City of Sydney reported that shared e-bike trips in the central business district nearly doubled in 2025, reaching 3.7 million journeys. This growth has attracted new competitors to the market, with HelloRide operating 3,000 e-bikes and Ario introducing a fleet of 2,700 since entering the Sydney market in late 2024.
E-Scooter Operations Face Regulatory Challenges
While e-bike rentals flourish, e-scooter hire operations have encountered significant headwinds across Australia. E-scooter adoption had initially outpaced e-bikes in most Australian capital cities, with all major urban centers except Sydney permitting the devices in early 2025. However, operations froze throughout the year as safety concerns mounted, leading to reduced access and declining popularity.
Major operator Neuron and its subsidiary Beam reduced their combined fleets by nearly ten percent over the course of 2025, decreasing to approximately 12,500 e-scooters across 24 locations nationwide. This contraction reflects broader challenges facing the e-scooter industry.
Safety Incidents Trigger Regulatory Responses
Several high-profile incidents have prompted regulatory crackdowns on e-scooter operations. Perth removed approximately 1,000 rental e-scooters from city streets following a fatal e-scooter crash. A subsequent Western Australian inquiry concluded that e-mobility devices could return under stricter regulatory frameworks.
In Bendigo, Beam withdrew 250 scooters after users completed fewer than 55,000 trips, falling short of expectations. Meanwhile, the City of Adelaide reported ridership on its 2,000-strong fleet declined from 543,000 trips in 2024 to 514,000 in 2025.
Neuron and Lime removed scooters from Melbourne's Yarra area after the local council increased fees, following their earlier expulsion from the city's central business district in 2024.
Industry Perspectives on the Shift
Stephen Coulter, an industry consultant with Zipidi, attributes the e-scooter slowdown to what he describes as a "moral panic" over safety and injuries. "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," Coulter explained.
Coulter suggested that state governments could facilitate the return of e-scooters in 2026, with Victorian and New South Wales governments already approving share scheme operators, while Western Australia and Queensland prepare responses to state inquiries.
In the interim, Coulter noted that Melbourne residents have increasingly turned to Lime's e-bikes. "Bikes are picking up in the absence of scooters and the operators are becoming better at aligning them with customer need," he observed.
Safety Statistics Highlight Differences
Preliminary police data from Queensland reveals significant safety disparities between e-scooters and e-bikes. In 2025, e-scooters and other personal mobility devices were involved in 10 fatalities and 440 crashes, while legal e-bikes—both privately owned and rented—were involved in 4 deaths and 235 crashes.
Adam Rossetto, general manager of Ario, which operates both e-bikes and e-scooters in far north Queensland, believes the relative safety of shared e-bikes compared to e-scooters has encouraged customers to switch modes. "E-bikes are coming back into the fore," Rossetto stated. "They provide a more traditional approach to mobility ... that delivers less stupidity, I think, from a section of users."
Expansion Plans and Future Outlook
Will Peters, Lime's Asia Pacific head, expressed disappointment when Melbourne forced out its e-scooters but remains optimistic about expanding the company's e-bike offerings. Lime is currently capped at operating 1,200 e-bikes across inner Melbourne but recently introduced bikes and scooters in the Darebin municipality and is monitoring opportunities to expand into nearby Merri-bek.
Peters highlighted Sydney's exceptional growth, where e-scooter use remains illegal even for shared schemes. "How do we make Sydney the best market?" Peters asked. "I think we can be bigger than London, we can be bigger than Paris."
Government data indicates that 600,000 New South Wales residents now use shared e-bikes monthly—an increase of 100,000 since October. This growth pattern mirrors developments in Paris, where e-bikes boomed after the city became the first European capital to ban shared e-scooters in 2023.
As Australian cities continue to adapt their mobility policies, the shift toward e-bikes appears poised to continue, driven by safety considerations, regulatory environments, and evolving consumer preferences in urban transportation.
