Decision details

Moved by Councillor Worling, seconded by the Chair (the Lord Mayor) –

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)           share bikes are important to the transport system, helping to reduce congestion and emissions while increasing access to City destinations;

(ii)         in 2022 share bike companies significantly increased their presence in the City of Sydney. Since then, the number of share bikes in the City of Sydney has increased by 1,580%; and

(iii)        in 2024 there were almost 2 million bike share trips in the City of Sydney - an 84% increase from the previous year;

(B)        Council further note that:

(i)           the City has responded to the increased presence of share bikes on our streets by working with share bike operators to provide designated bike parking areas either on-street or out-of-the-way on footpaths and other walkways;

(ii)         on footpaths, the City has implemented 130 designated bike parking areas. These are virtually demarcated in share bike apps, and the City has physically demarcated about half of them;

(iii)        on-street designated bike parking is a scalable solution to bike parking that frees up more space on footpaths. So far, the City has installed nine on-street designated bike parking areas and there are more in the pipeline;

(iv)        the City is collaborating with share bike companies to develop functionality in their apps that shows share bike users where to park on a virtual map even when there is no physical demarcation. This is to encourage users to park in an orderly manner, in designated bike parking areas, where the option is available. However, due to technical limitations there is not a high degree of accuracy for digital demarcation and share bike users can get confused and park bikes outside the designated area;

(v)         this can lead to confusion for people parking share bikes and an increase in community impact and complaints due to clutter caused by share bikes that are parked carelessly; and

(vi)        on 18 July 2025, the Lord Mayor wrote to the Minister for Transport about regulation of e-mobility devices in NSW including a request for the NSW Government to simplify the approval pathway and provide more support for designated on-street bike parking proposals in appropriate locations, so we can free up more space on our footpaths;  

(C)        the Chief Executive Officer be requested to investigate and report back to Council via the CEO Update on the resources and time needed to:

(i)           ensure all existing and planned designated bike parking areas (footpaths and on-street) are demarcated to help riders understand where to park; and

(ii)         in collaboration with share bike companies, develop a communications and education campaign to promote correct use of designated bike parking areas and responsible rider behaviour; and

(D)        the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the NSW Minister for Transport to request that as part of the e-mobility regulations currently being developed by the NSW Government, share e-mobility companies are required to contribute towards Councils’ costs with managing designated bike parking areas including footpath and on- street demarcation and an ongoing communications campaign to educate people about responsible riding.

Carried unanimously.

X113756