The City of Sydney has called for changes to NSW Government share bike reforms, saying the draft regulations will leave councils without the power or resources to manage them.
Annual share bike trips in the City of Sydney area have doubled to nearly 4 million in the past year. While supportive of share bike schemes, it says the government's reforms need more work.
"The current proposal feels like a missed opportunity for the effective management of share bike schemes that I have been asking for since 2017," Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said.
"The draft rules are complex and confusing and risks leaving the community continuing to be unsure of who controls what."
The funding model proposed would also see the NSW Government collect most of the operator fees while leaving local councils to foot the bill on installing designated bike parking areas as well as managing complaints and enforcement.
"We are calling for the government to make changes to the draft to give us the resources and legal tools we need to keep our streets safe for people walking and riding and to stop the outrageous funding grab currently proposed that will leave local councils out of pocket," the Lord Mayor said.
"We need the NSW Government to take a clearer leadership role. They should start the system with only a few high-performing operators and limit the number of bikes allowed, based on parking availability.
"Any increase in operators or the number of share bikes should only be based on good operator performance including responsiveness to customer complaints and their ability to manage parking such as by moving bikes where they build up or are blocking paths.
"To support that, they need to give us clearer and easier powers to install and enforce safe and appropriate share bike parking.
"While we welcome the draft regulations it is worth noting that they come off the back of calls from a number of councils, including the city, for clarity. It is important we get this right."
The City of Sydney is calling for the following changes to the draft regulations:
- A limited number of operators for the initial roll-out and a cap on fleet numbers to prevent the local area being flooded by share bikes and operators.
- More funding from operators direct to the City of Sydney for share bike parking, including docking style infrastructure in some location, and other costs.
- Greater obligations on operators to deal with customer complaints and ensure their fleet is compliant with the regulations.
- Legislation to enable councils to enforce bike parking rules and to fine share bike companies when their customers leave bikes blocking footpaths.
"It's important the onus is on share bike operators to ensure their customers and fleet are compliant," the Lord Mayor said.
The City of Sydney has also expressed concerns over how the proposals deal with e-scooters.
"While we welcome the NSW Government embracing new technology and active transport, councils must be permitted to make their own decisions about the use of shared e scooters in their local area.
"We would not support any shared e-scooter trial until the challenges posed by shared bike use in the city have been resolved."
