Islington Council has threatened that e-bike hire companies Lime and Forest are on their “last warning” and face losing permission to operate in the borough unless they deal with what the local authority claims is dangerous parking and poor rider behaviour.
Council leader Una O’Halloran and executive member for environment Rowena Champion wrote to both companies saying that “persistent problems” linked to the schemes “remain unresolved”.
They wrote “while the council recognises the value of 10 million journeys made in 2025, persistent problems are undermining the benefits”.
The issues highlighted by the council are bikes blocking pavements, riders running red lights, and hire bays becoming overcrowded.
Ms O’Halloran added that she would ask the companies to stop operating in Islington if the issues were not resolved.
She has asked Lime and Forest to “work with us to solve this problem together”, as “we cannot solve these issues alone”.
In the past year, Islington Council has added 115 dedicated bike hire bays and removed more than 200 badly parked bikes from its streets.
In the open letter, Ms O’Halloran and Ms Champion demanded progress on seven points to “ensure the schemes’ sustainable future”.
These include stopping obstructive parking, ceasing operations between 11 pm and 6 am, geofenced no-parking and go-slow zones in housing estates, and GPS tracking with data that the council can access.
They ended the letter saying that “we welcomed you to the borough because of the benefits that hire bikes bring – but without urgent action on these issues, this welcome will be withdrawn.”
Forest told the BBC that it was “taking the issues raised seriously” and was working with the council.
Forest’s head of policy, 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 they were the only operator to have fully stopped night-time servicing to reduce disturbance for residents.
> Worker sacked over video showing Lime hire bikes being hurled out of transport van
A Lime spokesperson said that “some overnight operations are essential”, but the company was “working with the council on practical steps to minimise disruption for residents, especially during the night.”
The spokesperson added that this year it had helped fund over 150 dedicated parking bays in the borough and was dealing with overcrowded bays and misparked bikes “faster than ever”.
5 thoughts on “Council demands “urgent action” from Lime and Forest hire bike operators to “fix persistent problems””
So I assume the council will
So I assume the council will also be banning various motor vehicle operations from the area due to illegal parking and driver misbehaviour?
The contrast is stark.
The contrast is stark. Problems with hire bikes blocking pavements: Ban hire bikes. People killed by cars at “dangerous” junctions. No action.
I was under the impression
I was under the impression that some local authorities had said various dockless bike dumping – sorry hire – companies had set up operation on their patch without any by-your-leave? Also that there wasn’t much they could do.
On this one, if the council had brought in cycle hire I would have a bit more sympathy and agree with the “what about cars?” argument. I am still unconvinced the dockless dumpers are operating (partly) for the public good though, even though it seems to be less of an issue than those big four-wheelers.
“last warning” and face
“last warning” and face losing permission to operate in the borough unless they deal with what the local authority claims is dangerous parking and poor rider behaviour.
Analysis of 15 years of road collision data in England, Scotland and Wales, revealed that 548 pedestrians have died in collisions on pavements or verges – roughly 40 a year (plus another 120 per year as a serious collision) – between 2005 and 2018.
Also, research indicates that about 11% of serious accidents and 20% of fatal accidents involve a driver fleeing the scene.
Most pedestrians were killed by drivers who lost control of their vehicles through dangerous driving, momentary inattention, inexperience, or a medical episode, all with devastating consequences. Six of those – around 1 per cent – were killed in collision with cycles.
“The council says it has removed more than 200 dangerously placed bikes, although it has not specified over what period.”
FFS. Move the cars. RoadPeace found that, in 2007, one in 18 speeding motorists was taken to court; in 2018 the chances of a speeding driver seeing court halved, to just one in 40. For the families of thousands of pedestrians, and other road users, who have lost their lives over the past decade and a half, much more is needed. As Tanya Braun from walking charity Living Streets, puts it: “The current justice system is simply not an effective deterrent to dangerous behaviour. We need an urgent review of how the justice system deals with mistakes, carelessness, recklessness and deliberately dangerous behaviour by all road users. ”
Move (just!) the bikes NOW, I say (sic)
115 bike hire bays, compared
115 bike hire bays, compared with how many for cars?
You’ll never be able to acount for the most selfish of users, but I’m not sure that 115 dedicated bays is enough to ensure that the averagely considerate, but running late/unfamiliar with the area users will have somewhere suitable and sufficiently convenient to leave their bikes.
There will be other things that can and should be done, and I’ve nothing against applying more pressure to the hire companies to sort it out, but it needs to go hand with creating space for car alternatives, and 115 such spaces across the whole of Islington isn’t something to brag about.
One thing, I rarely see discussed, is that bike hire schemes can be useful as a try before you buy option, and as we’d expect people to be more thoughtful about where they leave their own posessions, making it easier for people to own, use and store their own bikes should be considered as part of the solution.