Victoria is supporting this by trying to introduce a shared “public bike” scheme. This initiative has already had success in places around the world such as Copenhagen, Washington and Paris. In Copenhagen you put a coin in a deposit box and you can take this bike anywhere around the city limits, you just have to make sure you return it to any of the bike racks around the city.

Melbourne city council actually tried to introduce the scheme back in 2007 but failed partly because of Victoria’s compulsory helmet laws. A transport expert has called on the government to look at repealing the 20-year-old mandatory law to help the scheme succeed, otherwise some believe that as the law stands could deter people from using the bikes.

The scheme in Paris has had some controversy in that some of these hired bikes have lead to many injuries and even some deaths. In any city there will be cars and so wearing helmets should be compulsory. Surely there is a compromise to make this scheme work in Melbourne?

The scheme is due to launch in Melbourne next year with 600 bikes to hire.

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