Camden sets new contract obligations for e-bike rental firms

The London borough of Camden has established new controls to address poorly parked rental e-bikes which obstruct pavements and hinder pedestrians.

Under a new “contract approach”, the council has entered into agreements with hire bike providers Lime and Human Forest.

It said the measure was needed as there are currently no powers available to councils in England to manage the impacts of hire bikes.

The contract stipulates bike specification and safety measures, expected levels of customer service, data reporting and a requirement for at least 90 percent parking compliance within the council’s parking bay network.

“The contract approach allows the council to effectively manage the hire bike service within the borough by having expected levels of operation and service,” Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet member for a Sustainable Camden, told Cities Today.

“This ensures both a good standard of hire provision for people within the borough but also ensures that the hire service is delivered in a safe and sustainable manner.”

Compliance

Alongside addressing problems with hire bike usage, the new arrangements will promote the use of the nearly 200 designated parking bays rolled out by Camden Council in the last two years.

In Camden, more than two-thirds of people do not have a car, and already more than 8 in 10 trips made by residents are by public transport, walking and cycling – with more than 100,000 hire bike journeys starting in the borough each month.

Through the new agreement, performance monitoring data is provided to the council on a bi-weekly basis and failure to meet contractual obligations may result in contract rectification requirements and restrictions such as reductions in permitted fleet sizes.

The borough can also decide not to extend the contract period following the first period of two years.

“This contract finally gives us the legal powers we need to act against dockless hire firms if they do not meet our high standards of parking compliance,” said Harrison.

“This will help us control the numbers of bikes in the borough, ensure that bikes are parked in bays, and make sure that operators swiftly remove any that are blocking the pavement.”

Hal Stevenson, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Lime, commented: “London-wide regulation with parking locations on most streets is the long-term answer to these issues and we welcome the opportunity to work with Camden to implement these solutions for the safe and tidy parking of shared e-bikes.”

Human Forest was contacted for comment but did not respond at the time of publication.

Image: Lime