Like thousands before me I've hired the scooters from both Lime & Neuron, but I took the plunge and when F1 commenced this year, I bravely embarked on my first Lime bike ride! When the bus was too much to bear (it was an hour from St Kilda to Southern Cross) after the trams were cancelled, I made my way with walking shoes on, attempting the trek home on foot for a bit of exercise on a sunny afternoon from the CBD back to St Kilda. 

Luckily, I stumbled across an e-bike quickly, on Bourke St, blocking the footpath as usual and thought, why not! After all, they're healthy and cost effective (according to Lime & Neuron and of course the Greens), and they provide the wider community with options to get around this great city we call home. 

We wouldn't need to be that reliant on them if our public transport was more cost effective and more frequent ($10.60 a day, St Kilda to the CBD return and about $2 if I was dropped off in the car, but that's for another day)! 

I walked the bike closer to the designated bike lanes away from the roads to ensure I was confident enough to navigate my way home on a bike that wasn't my own. Not paying much attention, I also missed the big metal thing on the frame that turned out to be a motor I'd picked up an electric bike, another new one for me. As much as I love my ride, I prefer the old-fashioned way of peddling! 

There are perfectly good bike lanes, off the road, no need to share the space with cars for most of the trip, an amazing ride through Port Melbourne, onto the Esplanade and eventually back to St Kilda. I'm hooked on hire bikes for those without their own wheels, while the weather is good, I can mix up my commute by using one of my own bikes, or when I feel like it. 

And then I signed out, after leaving it in a safe space, not blocking a driveway, a footpath, a shop entrance or kicking it in the gutter, I got the charge!

A whopping AUD $38.50! 

That's the price of a half decent bottle of wine, a pizza takeaway for the family or for some, it's the weekly grocery budget! Exactly how is this cost effective? Exactly how does charging $38.50 for a trip that is 6 kilometres reasonable? An Uber from the CBD to St Kilda is under $20. Exactly what is Council making out of these hire companies? With the proceeds why don't they provide docking stations which is by far, the most sensible way to avoid them being littered around town. And why are we touting these things as 'cost effective'? At that price, I'd rather walk.