The Victorian government will scrap Melbourne’s original bike-sharing scheme, it was announced today.
The government-owned network, which is operated by RACV, was introduced in 2010. The goal was to increase cycling around the city, but according to the state government, not enough people are using the bikes to make the scheme viable anymore.
According to the Age, each of the 600 bikes is only used once a day on average. The docks are found across Melbourne’s CBD and cost about $3 for a day pass, which gives you unlimited rides in a 24-hour period. Riders are only allowed to have the bikes for 45 minutes at a time. The system costs about $2 million a year to run, and the Victorian government has decided to scrap the scheme.
The blue bikes are Melbourne’s last bike-sharing system, after problematic bike-sharing service OBike was canned in June of last year.
Melbourne’s blue bikes are set to disappear in about three months. No word yet on what the government plans to do with the bikes after the scheme is over.