Is Australia Finally Embracing Lime Shared Ebikes in Sydney?

The shared ebike market in Australia is experiencing a significant surge in growth, led by a massive expansion of operations in Sydney. This trend comes as shared e-scooter programs across the country face declines and regulatory crackdowns due to safety concerns.

According to reporting from The Guardian, the US-based operator Lime has aggressively expanded its presence in Sydney. Analysis of public data indicates that Lime more than doubled its Sydney fleet in 2025, reaching at least 7,000 ebikes.

Shift from E-Scooters to Ebikes

The rise of ebikes coincides with a downturn in the e-scooter sector, which previously grew faster than bike-sharing programs. While most Australian capital cities permitted e-scooters in early 2025, safety concerns led to a contraction of these fleets over the course of the year.

Major operators Neuron and its subsidiary Beam reduced their combined fleet by nearly a 10th during the year, leaving approximately 12,500 e-scooters across 24 locations. Specific regional declines include:

• Perth removed approximately 1,000 rental e-scooters from its streets following a fatal crash.
• The City of Adelaide reported that ridership for its 2,000-strong fleet dropped from 543,000 trips in 2024 to 514,000 in 2025.
• In Bendigo, Beam’s 250 scooters were removed after users completed fewer than 55,000 trips, failing to meet expectations.

Stephen Coulter, an industry consultant with Zipidi, attributed the slowdown to a moral panic regarding safety and injuries. He noted that some local governments overreacted, citing the City of Melbourne’s decision to withdraw scooters overnight in September 2024.

Strategic Expansion in Sydney and Melbourne

Sydney has become a primary growth hub for Lime because shared e-scooter schemes remain illegal in the city. This regulatory environment has steered consumer demand and corporate investment toward ebikes.

In Melbourne, where e-scooters were forced out of the central business district in 2024 and later removed from the Yarra area due to fee hikes by the council, residents have shifted toward Lime’s ebikes. Lime’s Asia-Pacific head, Will Peters, stated that while the company was disheartened by the removal of scooters in Melbourne, it remains focused on growing its ebike offering.

Lime’s current operations in inner Melbourne are capped at 1,200 ebikes, though the company has debuted both bikes and scooters in the Darebin municipality and is seeking expansion into Merri-bek.

Broader Market Outlook

The shift toward ebikes is extending beyond the largest metros. Hobart adopted Beam bikes in May, and both Canberra and Adelaide are moving toward issuing invitations for ebike and e-scooter operations.

Industry analysts suggest that state governments may facilitate the return of e-scooters in 2026. The New South Wales and Victorian governments have already approved share scheme operators, while Western Australia and Queensland have yet to respond to state inquiries.

Despite the potential return of scooters, the current trend indicates that operators are becoming more effective at aligning ebike deployment with customer needs, positioning them as a more stable alternative in the urban mobility market.