A London council has abandoned the threat of banning the cycle hire firm Lime after striking a deal to tackle the number of e-bikes that are abandoned on pavements.
Brent council had planned to become the first London borough to “evict” Lime, which dominates the bike hire market in the capital, by the end of October after accusing it of “causing havoc” on the streets.
But on Thursday – the deadline day – the council said that Lime had agreed to “invest hundreds of thousands of pounds” in creating 200 designated bike parking bays across Brent, as part of a “comprehensive plan to tackle residents’ safety concerns”.
Under the new plan, Lime will create the bays in a phased programme by July 2025 and immediately reduce the number of its battery-assisted e-bikes in Brent by a third, from 750 to 500.
Any subsequent increase in bike numbers will be negotiated with the council.
The new scheme will also Introduce “zoning changes” that prevent the parking of bikes in areas where parking has frequently been poor.
“Slow zones” will be introduced in hotspots, such as around Wembley Stadium and Wembley High Road.
There be an increase in Lime patrols and inappropriately parked bikes will be removed within two hours of issues being reported.
Krupa Sheth, Brent’s cabinet member for environment and enforcement, said: “Since raising our concerns with Lime earlier this year, we've spent considerable time at the table with them, communicating residents' issues, outlining our expectations, and closely reviewing their proposals.
“We’ve squeezed a number of really important improvements out of Lime, and it is welcome that they have listened to residents’ feedback and are taking immediate steps to change.
“This council supports active travel, but safety is non-negotiable. We hope that we have turned a corner with Lime and expect residents to see real, noticeable improvements from now on. We will hold Lime to these new commitments to ensure they are honoured."
Lime currently operates in 17 of the 33 London boroughs, with more contracts expected.
The firm uses GPS location technology to check whether bikes are parked in designated bays. Riders are also required to send a photo of where the bike is parked, in areas where mandatory parking is in force.
Riders that fail to comply continue to be charged for the “incomplete” journey and can also be fined, on an escalating scale, from £2 to £5 to £10 to £20 - with the final fine being accompanied by a ban.
Hal Stevenson, director of policy at Lime UK, said: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Brent council to continue offering our service to the tens of thousands of residents that rely on us daily across the borough.
“Over the past two months, we’ve collaborated closely with the council to establish an action plan that will deliver immediate, on-street improvements, while also funding the creation of a new network of mandatory parking locations by July 1.
“Our significant investment in this network demonstrates our commitment to working alongside Brent to provide long-term solutions that address community concerns, while continuing to support their efforts to ensure more journeys in the borough are taken by bike.
“We are listening to our council partners and taking action to manage the record demand for our e-bikes responsibly.”
Councils typically convert kerb-side parking used by cars into bays for Lime bikes.
This can require planning permission or the use of a traffic management order, and often includes consultation with residents.
Lime has invested £1m this year in funding designated bays in London, and expects to provide similar funding in 2025.
Brent had been in “partnership” with Lime since 2019 as part of a commitment to promote “green” travel and reduce pollution.
But it issued the ultimatum in response to the “high and increasing number of incidents” of inconsiderately parked and abandoned e-bikes and the “often slow response time” by Lime.
Brent leader Muhammed Butt said in September: “Lime bikes left scattered across our streets are causing havoc for other road users, especially for pedestrians and disabled people.
“Residents have gone sour on Lime and the council is receiving repeated, regular complaints about the bikes left across paths and roads in a haphazard way.”
But Brent Cycling Campaign, part of the London Cycling Campaign, called on the council and Lime to work together and cease the “counterproductive blame game”.
Transport for London is leading plans for a capital-wide set of rules for dockless bike operators and e-scooters but this is unlikely to be introduced before 2026.
Across London, there were more than 12 million trips on Lime bikes by 1.25million riders between 2019 and 2023.
Forest has about 10,000 dockless e-bikes, while TfL has about 12,000 “Boris bikes”, though these have to be “docked” in racks.
Earlier this month, TfL told The Standard it wanted to double the number of its e-bikes from 2,000 to 4,000 as it insisted it was here to stay, despite the loss of customers to its privately-funded rivals.
