A London council has threatened to start seizing Lime bikes after large numbers were left scattered across Wimbledon on day one of the Championships.
An influx of e-bikes in the borough has left some of the busiest areas with designated parking bays “overwhelmed”, a local councillor has said.
The warning came as thousands of tennis fans flocked to the area on Monday for the start of the world's most prestigious tennis tournament, with around 10,000 people already queueing for tickets by 8am.
Merton Council has requested an urgent meeting with both Lime and Forest to ensure the dockless e-bike situation gets under control quickly.
A spokesman for the council said: “We’re disappointed that a small number of riders are ignoring the rules and we expect Lime and Forest to be issuing fines to riders to ensure Merton’s streets are clear and safe.
“We’ve also made sure both Lime and Forest have increased their staffing during the tennis to deal with abandoned or poorly parked bikes as quickly as possible.
“We’ve requested an urgent meeting with both operators tomorrow and, in the meantime, asked the operators to increase their resourcing.
“We’ve increased our presence there too. If the situation does not improve quickly, the council will start seizing bikes where there is a serious safety risk.”
Magical time of year in Wimbledon, as flocks of migrating Lime Bikes stop to graze on the lush grass on the way to their breeding grounds in Richmond. pic.twitter.com/0WL0VBD9vR
— ᴅavid ᴅοig (@wimbledog) June 19, 2026
E-bike riders who attend the tournament are required to dismount on Church Street, which is adjacent to the All England Club, and walk their bikes to the designated parking area.
But, some have been spotted on the road and the pavement outside of the Club, blocking pedestrian access to the stadium.
Lib Dem Councillor Anthony Fairclough told The Standard: “E-bikes make cycling more accessible to more people. They are clearly very popular.
“The e-bike operators and the people who make agreements with them - like Merton, or AELTC - should ensure that e-bikes are being managed properly and that problems are dealt with.
“The Council has an agreement with the dockless e-bike operators to require journeys to be ended within a marked or virtual parking bays around the borough.
“We know that during the championships the operators both bring in more bikes, and more riders ride into the borough. So the number of bikes increases.
“This means some bike parking bays get completely overwhelmed. The technology does not entirely tie up so the area people can often leave bikes is wider than any marked bays.
“The operators provide wardens to help manage the bikes, but they do not always respond quickly or deal on an ongoing basis with areas that get overwhelmed.
“Merton has no particular process for assessing problematic bays either - a number of town centre bays near people's homes cause issues when they are used 24-7 - including by the operators who collect and deploy bikes 24 hours a day.
“The operators should manage their bikes effectively - they are the people benefitting financially from them - and Merton Council should hold the operators to the rules agreed.
“Merton should also have a process for swiftly dealing with bays that disturb residents.”
A Forest spokesperson said: "As expected, we’re seeing a significant spike in demand for our services in Merton, driven by the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
“We’ve been working closely with Merton Council in recent months to prepare for the tournament, including introducing temporary parking bays and deploying our operational team to support journeys in the local area.
“We’re aware that certain parking bays are particularly busy, and in response to this, we have deployed extra support to these locations to help manage demand and minimise disruption."
A Lime spokesperson said:“It was great to see so many people choosing Lime to travel to Wimbledon on the first day of the Championships.
“Events like this highlight the growing role cycling plays in helping Londoners move around the capital, while bringing communities together during major cultural moments in the city.
“We’ve worked closely with the team at Wimbledon for several years, as well as Merton Council.
“Planning for the tournament is always a key moment in the calendar for our teams.
“Each year we install dedicated, staffed parking bays on the Club’s grounds, and this year we’ve also worked with the Council to increase the number of temporary parking bays in areas of high demand such as tube and train stations in Wimbledon Village.
“We have also increased on-the-ground Lime staffing to keep vehicles parked neatly and safely throughout the day.
“As yesterday was the first day of the tournament, we will monitor the situation and adjust our operations based on learnings to meet demand and keep bikes tidy over the next two weeks. We look forward to continuing to work with the organisers and the council moving forward.”
