Melbourne City Loses Horse-Drawn Carriages

Britain's Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence ride in a horse-drawn carriage during the opening ceremony of the Royal Easter Show in Sydney on April 9, 2022. (Steven Saphore / AFP) Photo by STEVEN SAPHORE/AFP via Getty Images

Horse-drawn carriages will be banned in the Melbourne Central Business District from next month.

Operators can still work on the outskirts of the city, including the Royal Botanic Gardens and other park precincts.

Transport Minister Ben Carroll said horse-drawn carriages posed a safety risk for commuters, pedestrians and motorists in the city centre.

Victorian Transport Minister Ben Carroll has said that the city will no longer allow horse-drawn carriages as they pose a safety risk for commuters, pedestrians and motorists in the city centre. A tram passes in front of Flinders Street Railway Station on August 18, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

“There have been multiple and many issues around safety,” Carroll told reporters on May 12, “particularly with the tram network and U-turns, but also to many different pedestrians wanting to get to where they need to get to and being held up.”

Carroll said there were only about four operators left in the CBD, noting many also work in regional Victoria.

“We are there to help them and transition to what we think will be a better practice for them, a better alternative for their horses, and also a better alternative for tourists,” Carroll said.