The Corporation has undertaken on-street action to remove hire e-bikes from its streets and pavements, where they have been found to obstruct or cause an immediate danger to others.
More than 100 bikes were confiscated during a two-week enforcement period, to encourage hire operators to manage their own fleet and customers to comply with good parking behaviour.
Seized e-bikes were stored in a safe location for 24 hours, before the providers were able to collect them for a fee, to cover the cost to the City of removal and storage.
The City Corporation already has agreements in place with hire operators around where people should park bikes, but in response to the scale of complaints received, introduced its own clean-up campaign, to reduce pavement obstructions caused by poorly parked bikes.
An extra 300 parking spaces for hire bikes have also been committed across the Square Mile to help users park safely and considerately, as the City Corporation continues to work closely with other London Councils and Transport for London, to deliver consistent enforcement legislation across the entire capital.
Lime and Forest have both committed to improve their service, with Lime also launching a safe riding campaign to promote responsible cycling and adherence to the Highway Code. Lime will also fund new parking bays in the City through their Parking Infrastructure Fund.
Chair of the Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, Shravan Joshi, said:
“I recently met with the CEO of Lime, along with their CFO and UK Director which provided an opportunity to ensure their global senior leadership fully understands the impact. Lime has seen remarkable success and with 16 million journeys taken (including by me!) during London’s commuting hours in 2024, their presence on the streets is undeniable, but so too are the challenges posed by bikes cluttering our pavements.
“The action plan from Lime is welcome news, particularly a funded programme that helps ensure we can continue to see dockless bikes on London’s streets without causing disruption and obstacles to others. Alongside this, we will keep up the pressure to make sure results are quantified and meaningful, alongside Transport for London and London Councils.”
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