Council puts hire bike operators on 'last warning'

Islington Council has said e-bike hire companies Lime and Forest are on their "last warning" to tackle dangerous parking and poor rider behaviour - or face losing permission to operate in the borough.

The north London council leader Una O'Halloran and executive member Rowena Champion wrote to the companies on 11 December to raise "persistent problems" which they say "remain unresolved".

These include bikes blocking pavements, red light running by riders, and over-capacity parking bays.

In response, Forest said it was "taking the issues raised seriously" and was working with the council. Lime said it too was working with the council on "practical steps to minimise disruption for residents".

Ms O'Halloran told BBC London: "I'm not against cyclists and we see the benefits of bikes in the borough, but there are problems", most notably with dangerous parking and riding.

She called for restrictions on parking, and use of geofencing to prevent the bikes from being used in estates.

The council leader also said councils should have the ability to regulate the number of bikes in their borough, and that she would ask the companies to stop operating in Islington if the issues raised were not resolved.

Islington Council has added 115 dedicated bike hire bays in the past year, and removed more than 200 badly parked bikes from their streets, but Ms O'Halloran said "we cannot solve these issues alone".

She said she had asked Lime and Forest to "work with us to solve this problem together".

In their open letter, Ms O'Halloran and Ms Champion set out further demands to "ensure the schemes' sustainable future".

This included companies ceasing operations between 23:00 and 06:00 in areas where multiple complaints regarding night-time noise had been raised.

Deborah Smith has lived in Islington for 30 years, and recently had two parking spaces outside her house replaced by Lime e-bike bays.

She said she had been woken up multiple times by people picking up or dropping off bikes, and by riders testing the bells in the middle of the night.

She urged Lime to remove the parking bay and "put them somewhere non-residential", claiming, "no-one asked us if we wanted it here or not".

"We woke up one day and it was there. It's taken away two parking spaces for which we pay parking permits."

The head of policy at Forest, Alex Berwin, said the company "cares deeply about making a positive impact in the city" and they "remain committed to being a responsible operator and a constructive partner to Islington Council".

He added that Forest took the issues raised seriously, and that they were investing heavily in better parking technology, in-app guidance and clear instructions "to help users park responsibly and reduce street clutter".

He also said the company's local team "responded quickly" when issues were reported and said they were the only operator to have fully switched off night-time servicing to reduce disturbance for residents.

A Lime spokesperson said that to ensure bikes were charged and available outside people's homes, "some overnight operations are essential".

The company said it was, however, "working with the council on practical steps to minimise disruption for residents, especially during the night.

"Record demand for our service has led to some parking challenges in Islington, which we're working to address."

It added that this year it had helped fund over 150 dedicated parking bays in the borough - and had a team tidying misparked bikes and overcrowded bays "faster than ever".

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