Australia: Melbourne Officials Vote to Ban Rental E-scooters

Hire e-scooters are lined up in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) on August 13, 2024. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
Hire e-scooters are lined up in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) on August 13, 2024. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
TT

Australia: Melbourne Officials Vote to Ban Rental E-scooters

Hire e-scooters are lined up in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) on August 13, 2024. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
Hire e-scooters are lined up in Melbourne's central business district (CBD) on August 13, 2024. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Melbourne has become the latest city to ban rental e-scooters, abruptly moving to end a trial contract with two firms after a community revolt.

After a six-to-four council vote late Tuesday, city authorities said they would give operators Lime and Neuron 30 days to rid the city center of the two-wheeled contraptions.

Mayor Nicholas Reece -- a former executive at the men's health charity Movember -- backed the move and said it had popular support.

He alleged scooters had been scattered around the city "like confetti", posing a risk to the community.

For fans, e-scooters are a transport revolution -- allowing commuters to zip around crowded cities with ease and at minimal cost.

For detractors, they are injury-inducing street litter and a hipsters' plague on peaceful pedestrians.

In just two decades, e-scooters have grown into a worldwide market worth tens of billions of dollars a year.

But Melbourne follows cities from Barcelona to Montreal in banning or limiting where e-scooters can go.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales report the growth of e-scooters has brought a rise in related injuries and hospital admissions, mostly from men aged in their late 20s to early 30s.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital recorded 256 e-scooter-related injuries in 2022.

Rental company Neuron Mobility said Melbourne's "drastic" decision was made without "proper discussion".

"We still believe that Melbourne is an excellent city for e-scooters," Neuron's local general manager Jayden Bryant told AFP.

"If given the opportunity, we could quickly implement a variety of measures to address many, if not all, of the councilors’ concerns."



India’s Monsoon Rains Arrive 8 Days Early, Earliest in 16 Years

Dark monsoon clouds hover over the city skyline in Mumbai on May 22, 2025. (AFP)
Dark monsoon clouds hover over the city skyline in Mumbai on May 22, 2025. (AFP)
TT

India’s Monsoon Rains Arrive 8 Days Early, Earliest in 16 Years

Dark monsoon clouds hover over the city skyline in Mumbai on May 22, 2025. (AFP)
Dark monsoon clouds hover over the city skyline in Mumbai on May 22, 2025. (AFP)

Monsoon rains hit the coast of India's southernmost state of Kerala on Saturday, eight days earlier than usual, marking the earliest arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a bumper harvest and relief from a grueling heatwave.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's $4 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs. Nearly half of India's farmland, without any irrigation cover, depends on the annual June-September rains to grow a number of crops.

Summer rains usually begin to lash Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.

The onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 24 is its earliest onset since May 23, 2009, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

The monsoon has covered Kerala and parts of neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of the northeastern state of Mizoram, the IMD said.

Conditions are favorable for the monsoon's further spread into Goa, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the northeastern states, West Bengal, and the remaining parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next 2 to 3 days.

Surplus pre-monsoon rainfall and an early monsoon onset will help farmers, especially in the southern and central states, to sow summer crops earlier than usual, said Ashwini Bansod, vice president for commodities research at Phillip Capital India, a Mumbai-based brokerage.

"Abundant soil moisture and early sowing could potentially boost crop yields," Bansod said.

Last year, the monsoon reached the coast of Kerala on May 30, and overall summer rains were the highest since 2020, supporting recovery from a drought in 2023.

The IMD last month forecast above-average monsoon rains for the second straight year in 2025.

The department defines average or normal rainfall as ranging between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 87 cm (35 inches) for the four-month season.