The City of London Corporation has acted on badly parked electric bikes in the borough by confiscating more than 100 such vehicles over the last two weeks.
The bikes collected were all found to be obstructing the pavement or causing ‘an immediate danger to others.’
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The Corporation explain that they acted after received numerous complaints about the bikes, which were the property of both Lime and Forest.
The two-week enforcement period, was aimed at encouraging hire operators to manage their own fleet and ensure their customers park the bikes responsibly.
Lime recently announced that they were investing £5m in improving their parking infrastructure across London, which will see the installation of at least 2,500 new dedicated parking spaces. They have also earmarked £13.4m on increasing patrols by 60%, taking the number of their personnel on streets of the capital to over 400. The company expect that this will see 4,000 bikes either collected or moved in the capital each day, double last year’s rate.
The City of London Corporation held the confiscated bikes in a secure location for 24 hours before releasing them for a fee – which can be as much as £235 per bike -to cover the cost of the operation.
Chair of the City of London 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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