A London council has threatened to evict cycle rent agency Lime for allegedly ignoring its security considerations amid ‘havoc’ attributable to e-bikes left ‘scattered’ throughout its streets.
Brent Council advised the US-based dockless bike operator that it has three months to handle the problems or take away all 750 cycles presently allowed within the borough.
The native authority in North West London is especially apprehensive concerning the risks posed by the deserted inexperienced bikes for pedestrians and disabled folks.
Its ultimatum is the most recent spherical of an ongoing battle between councils and personal rent bike companies amid hovering demand for battery-powered bikes because the pandemic.
Lime now has 30,000 e-bikes throughout London and has been working with Brent since 2019 because the council tries to advertise eco-friendly journey to scale back air air pollution.
However Brent chief Muhammed Butt stated the council is receiving ‘repeated, common complaints concerning the bikes left throughout paths and roads in a haphazard means’.
Dockless Lime rent bikes lie in a pile on a pavement on the Strand in Central London
Councils can not but regulate e-bike rent companies amid hovering demand because the pandemic
He added that this was ‘placing unsustainable stress on council employees who’re spending time cleansing up after Lime’, describing the state of affairs as ‘unsustainable’.
And the authority has now advised Lime that it should take away its bikes by the top of October if it ‘continues to disregard Brent Council’s security considerations and options for enhancements to the scheme’.
These requests embrace the introduction of devoted e-bike parking bays, which might be devoted, cordoned-off areas in excessive footfall zones equivalent to stations, city centres, employment areas and different customer sights.
A ‘no parking lot’ would even be launched in all different areas of the borough with any e-bikes left on this zone eliminated by Lime in an agreed timeframe.
This side presents an issue for Lime’s enterprise mannequin, because it desires riders to have the ability to rent a motorcycle and park it close to their start line and vacation spot – wherever that’s.
Brent added that extra sources can be required in order that any e-bikes reported to be inconsiderately parked or deserted are eliminated rapidly.
The council additionally desires Lime to extend penalties for customers who fail to depart their e-bikes within the appropriate location, given the present fantastic of £10 will not be an ‘sufficient deterrent’.
As well as, Brent has requested Lime to offer native coaching, jobs and neighborhood occasions as a part of its actions within the borough, together with a residents’ discussion board so folks can share their views on the scheme.
Mr Butt stated: ‘Lime bikes left scattered throughout our streets are inflicting havoc for different street customers, particularly for pedestrians and disabled folks.
‘Residents have gone bitter on Lime and the council is receiving repeated, common complaints concerning the bikes left throughout paths and roads in a haphazard means.
‘That is placing unsustainable stress on council employees who’re spending time cleansing up after Lime. One thing wants to vary as the present state of affairs is unsustainable and leaves a bitter style within the mouth.’
The transfer has been welcomed by the Nationwide Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK), which stated the e-bikes are harmful to blind, visually-impaired folks and different pedestrians.
A spokesperson advised BBC Information: ‘The bikes must be docked and locked off the pavement just like the Santander ones. Till this occurs the e-bikes must be eliminated.’
One nameless Brent resident additionally advised the broadcaster that youngsters would usually tip the e-bikes over, including: ‘They’re gathered round laughing… they pull them in the way in which. Folks haven’t got respect for neighborhood property.’
Brent stated Lime has not but performed sufficient in response to its requests for enhancements.
Mr Butt added: ‘So far, Lime has not happy our proposals, which we think about important to making sure the protected and environment friendly operation of the scheme in Brent. Except Lime modifications the way in which it really works with us, we’re out of street for its actions in Brent.’
Greater than 12million journeys on Lime bikes had been made throughout London between 2019 and final 12 months
Brent Council desires Lime e-bikes to be parked safely in devoted, cordoned-off areas
Thus far Brent has created about ten ‘pilot’ parking bays and hopes to finally improve the entire to 100, reported the Night Customary.
Nevertheless, that is simply over two bays per sq km (0.4 sq miles), which is considerably under the beneficial density given by unbiased specialists of 25 bays per sq km.
A spokesman for the Brent Biking Marketing campaign, a part of the London Biking Marketing campaign, advised the newspaper: ‘Lime and Brent Council should work collectively and cease this counterproductive blame recreation.
‘Because the freeway authority, Brent Council has the ability to unravel the challenges round shared e-bike parking: the answer is to offer adequate marked bike parking areas on the street in drawback areas, enforced in collaboration with the rent bike operator.
‘We’re shocked, provided that different London boroughs have efficiently addressed this concern for a while. Eradicating a well-liked zero emissions transport possibility will not be the reply.’
Tom Fyans, chief government of the London Biking Marketing campaign, added: ‘We welcome the elevated variety of folks biking in London utilizing bike rent schemes together with Lime, and encourage all councils and operators to work collectively to maximise the chance for extra Londoners to make use of them safely and responsibly.
‘We urgently name on all councils to work with operators to extend parking provision to satisfy rising demand in order that rent bikes proceed to play their position in bringing the enjoyment of biking to an increasing number of Londoners’
Some 1.25million riders took greater than 12million journeys on Lime bikes throughout London between 2019 and final 12 months.
Rival agency Forest operates on a smaller scale with round 10,000 dockless e-bikes.
Transport for London (TfL) has about 15,000 Santander Cycles which should be docked in ranks. These are generally referred to as ‘Boris bikes’ after Boris Johnson who was Mayor once they had been launched in 2010.
TfL is presently engaged on a London-wide coverage for dockless bike operators and e-scooters, however this isn’t anticipated to return into pressure till 2026.
And a spokesperson for Mayor Sadiq Khan, who’s the self-appointed chair of TfL, stated his workforce had been working with councils in London to handle the difficulty.
He desires them to ‘discover a coordinated scheme to handle dockless e-bikes and e-scooters and extra enforcement mechanisms for poorly parked e-bikes’.
The council stated it now awaited a response to a letter to Lime, and has supplied formal pre-emptive discover that each one e-bikes should be faraway from Brent by October 31.
Officers are apprehensive about risks posed by the e-bikes to pedestrians and disabled folks
Lime bikes have been in operation in Brent since 2019 and have soared in reputation since
Mr Butt stated: ‘It is excessive time Lime takes accountability for its service and customers. We wish Lime to take ours and residents’ considerations critically and amend its working mannequin to account for the commonsense asks we have now made.’
However a Lime spokesperson responded by saying: ‘We’re proud to have run a profitable shared e-bike service in Brent for the final six years, with tens of hundreds of native residents now utilizing Lime to make important journeys within the borough.
‘We perceive the crucial significance of sustaining a protected service and avoiding pavement obstructions and are dedicated to working with the council to ship the required enhancements to increase our operations right here.
‘It’s attainable to maneuver to a compulsory parking mannequin in Brent, however the council wants to put in a adequate variety of parking areas for folks to park at.
‘We’d like these areas to be able to preserve a tidy and straightforward to make use of service that may proceed to contribute to the council’s energetic journey targets. We will assist this course of by offering journey knowledge and infrastructure funding.’
