For some of us, they’re a nuisance to dodge on the way to work. But for others, the recent arrival of thousands of rental e-bikes strewn across London’s pavements is a dangerous hazard that can make them fear leaving the house.
Yemi Dada is a retired financial adviser from south-east London. Dada is albino, which led to glaucoma, leaving him partially sighted. Every time he leaves his house these days, he has trouble navigating e-bikes, which are often left on the tactile paving that helps him locate pedestrian crossings. Dada says he now leaves his home less regularly, for fear of walking into a bike that’s been left in the street and fallen over. When he does, he has to move very slowly or take expensive taxis.
Sarah Gayton of the National Federation of the Blind says discarded rental e-bikes are a menace to the blind community. She tells the story of a lady who suffered a huge black eye after tripping over one near her south London home, one of several people she knows who have been hurt recently. Gayton calls the estimated 30,000 bikes that have arrived over the past five years or so an “invasion”. “There have always been obstructions on the streets, but this is on a scale that’s never been seen before,” she says.
Message to @MayorofLondon @londoncouncils @GregHands about dockless bikes for #IDPD2023 ‘They are just not concerned about blind people whether it’s partial or total. It’s horrible. We just can’t get out because of the fear of crashing into these bicycles. They are everywhere.’ pic.twitter.com/EeH6YTIvRJ
— NFBUK (@NFBUK) December 3, 2023
The e-bikes are heavy and hard to move. In 2021, a man in Northampton died after he fell and broke his hip while trying to move a discarded Voi rental scooter that was blocking the path of his electric wheelchair. They can be costly too: the bikes have fallen onto parked cars, causing hundreds of pounds’ worth of damage.
And this year, the battle over the e-bikes could get even more bitter. Westminster Hub, a group which gives legal help to residents in the central London borough, say they are hoping to start legal action against Lime, the capital’s biggest e-bike company, after feeling that agreements made on parking are not being not kept up by the company. They say that Lime made assurances over bike docking, but are not keeping to their end of the deal.
Politicians are struggling to cope with the fallout. Nickie Aiken, Tory MP for Cities of London and Westminster, says that apart from crime, e-bikes are the biggest issue her constituents ask about. “Their concern is they’re being left irresponsibly,” she says. “They block pavements, roads and parking bays.”
Aiken thinks there should be harsh “financial penalties” for bad parking. “I think the first time should be quite punitive because it sends a very clear message,” she says. “£50 would focus the mind, particularly if you’ve paid five pounds for a ride.” Aiken compares the fines for cars, which can go up to hundreds of pounds quite quickly. “I think it’s really important to encourage more green travel, but that green travel has to come with responsibilities,” she adds. The MP doesn’t use the bikes herself, as she walks everywhere, but says her family do — but they always park them responsibly.
Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, also knows there’s a problem, mentioning difficulties for buggy and wheelchair users, but says there is little the Mayor’s office can legally do. “This is a really good example where technology is advanced, and legislation is lagging behind,” he says. “Cities lack the legal powers to regulate... we have been asking Government for ages, ever since the dockless bikes arrived. But there’s no legal power for us to be able to say, ‘Right, here’s a contract — if you don’t adhere to it, these are the penalties’.”
It doesn’t help that different boroughs have different deals with the bike firms, meaning varying rules on parking. Last year, Westminster council started a pilot scheme, building 330 new parking bays, using money from the e-bike companies. Councillor and cabinet member for city management, the Labour Party's Paul Dimoldenberg, says that the pilot has improved the situation, claiming only 15 of these remain “problem” bays. However, he says that Westminster does not have the power to enforce the rules by law, relying on the e-bike companies’ goodwill in policing them. Some users say the e-bikes’ GPS rules on parking are easy to circumvent. Other councils have said they will seize badly parked bikes, but, in reality, they often lack the funding to enforce the rules. E-bikes are often left in cycling bays, making it harder to park private bicycles. While he knows that badly parked bikes can be dangerous, Norman is also keen to trumpet the benefits of cycling over driving. “E-bikes are an inherently good thing,” he says. “They enable more people to cycle, they are good for people’s health, they appeal to a different demographic, and people who use the bikes tend to cycle further.”
The biggest e-bike brand is Lime. They are now thought to have far more than the 12,000 “Boris bikes” which once led the market. Lime has grown quickly since forming in San Francisco in 2017, now operating in more than 230 cities — helped by GPS and smartphone technology. Just like Uber when they took on London black taxis, Lime’s business model involves flooding the streets with bikes to push out competitors. That means they are more convenient than other transport, including docked Santander bikes. And there’s big money to be made: last year Lime said it took $466 million worldwide in total bookings, meaning earnings before tax of $15 million. Lime’s bikes cost £1 to unlock, and then around 23p a minute to ride. In a way, the firm and their competitors are victims of their own success. The company say 1.25 million Londoners use their services in 15 boroughs, and boast that 97 per cent of us are never more than two minutes from a Lime bike. They also have an e-scooter trial in 10 London boroughs.
E-bikes are easy to use, giving a little electric assistance which makes pedalling that bit easier. Lime also have a certain style: Harry Styles and James Corden were snapped on a pair in the summer, and the company even launched a clothing line last year.
But just as the tech has been a success, so it has flaws. Last summer in particular, there was an epidemic of “hacking” Lime bikes, where young people learned how to break the temporary lock, cycling along with a loud clacking sound. The hacking contributes to the carelessness over parking: some were left on beaches near the Thames, another was found up a tree.
This is a really good example where technology is advanced, and legislation is lagging behind
Hal Stevenson, director of policy for Lime, knows more needs to be done. “We understand the importance of preventing pavement obstructions in London and have worked hard to improve user parking over the last 12 months,” he says. Stevenson claims the firm is clamping down on bad parking using GPS and escalating warnings and fines, as well mandatory photos at the end of rides. They’ve also hired more people to work in their Bermondsey warehouse, as well as out on the streets. But some say that the parking rules are easily dodged.
Forest are probably the second biggest firm in the market, with around 10,000 dark green bikes. They too are trying to improve: head of policy Alex Berwin says they have patrols of “guardians” on the streets cleaning up bikes, as well as rewards for users who park their bikes responsibly.
While Forest admit bikes on pavements are hazardous, they argue that bikes are more sustainable and better to look at than parked cars. Berwin suggests that there should be limits on owning more than one car in the capital, and the resulting parking bays given over to e-bike parking bays. He says: “There are 300,000 second cars in London — that’s enough carriageway space to hold four million bikes.”
In the long run, e-bikes may be preferable to cars for the environment. But until a system is found for the growing fleet to be docked safely, they are a hazard for Yemi Dada and other visually impaired people. “We just can’t get out for fear of crashing into these bicycles,” Dada says. “They are everywhere.”
