Yarra councillors will soon receive a briefing from officers on the local impacts of a commercial bike sharing operation.

Following the recent launch of the O-Bike service, we became aware of community concerns regarding bike parking, footpath clutter and urban amenity.

We intend to investigate the best way to manage the impacts of such services while continuing to encourage cycling and bike sharing within Yarra.

Cycling is a part of Yarra’s DNA and we are committed to supporting environmentally friendly modes of transport that also help community members stay healthy and active.

We are equally committed to working with stakeholders to ensure that bike sharing services don’t unreasonably impact on our residents, businesses and visitors.

 If you have any concerns in the short term, please contact O-Bike on 0452 512 453.

At its Ordinary Meeting of Tuesday 4 July, Council resolved:

That Council receive a briefing from Officers detailing:  

• the impacts of O-Bike on public space and a proposed strategy for a balanced response to manage the impacts while encouraging cycling and bike share within the municipality;
• the strategies and responses of other municipalities in Melbourne and around the world to private bike share schemes;
• the Progress of Melbourne’s Public Bike Sharing scheme review; and
• relevant information from CyclePort, BYKKO, Bicycle Network and other industry leaders about the benefits of E-bike share systems and how they might be implemented in the City of Yarra.