City of London cracks down on e-bike parking

The City of London Corporation has undertaken action to remove rental 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 from micromobility operators Lime and Forest were confiscated during a two-week enforcement period (27 January-7 February) to “encourage” firms to manage their fleets and ensure 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 £235 (US$292) per bike fee.

The City Corporation already has agreements in place with operators around where people should park bikes but in response to the scale of complaints received, it introduced its own clean-up campaign to reduce pavement obstructions caused by poorly parked bikes.

A source from the Corporation told Cities Today that problem parking remains an issue because there’s no established legal way of enforcing proper parking of these bikes, adding that London Councils, Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor are still trying to establish a uniform approach with which to effectively regulate the providers.

Last month Lime announced a £20 million (US$25 million) five-point action plan to help improve e-bike parking and safety across the UK capital.

The plan included supporting the installation of 2,500 dedicated parking spaces with a 60 percent increase in its on-street patrols to ensure compliance.

“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,” said Shravan Joshi, Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee.

“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.”

Last year another London council, Brent, threatened to suspend Lime’s services because of issues with abandoned bikes but a compromise deal was eventually reached.

Industry reaction

“We fully support the City of London Corporation’s efforts to ensure responsible parking of rental e-bikes across the industry, whilst ensuring that e-bikes contribute to the City’s transport strategy and plans to improve air quality, reduce car traffic and increase cycling rates,” a Lime spokesperson told Cities Today.

“We want Lime’s e-bikes to enhance the City’s transport network without causing inconvenience or hazards to Londoners.

“Lime users are required to take an ‘end-trip photo’ which are reviewed by our AI technology, enabling us to identify and address instances of poor parking. Riders who park incorrectly will be warned and fined, with repeat offenders banned. Our fines start from £2 and increase up to £20 before a ban – 80 percent of people fined do not offend again after their first fine”.

The company did not elaborate on the number of fines that have been issued, or the number of riders that have been warned or banned.

Alex Berwin, Head of Policy at Forest, said: “It is unfortunate a very small number of Forest e-bikes were collected as part of this action, however we are committed to working with the City of London to ensure the hundreds of residents, visitors and commuters who rely on our e-bikes have a safe and convenient location to responsibly park their e-bike, as well as minimise obstructions for non-users.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the City of London and continue investing in essential infrastructure to support cycling across all boroughs.”

Image: City of London