Police crackdown on dangerous delivery cyclists after cycling charity urged companies to do more following cycle lane crash

Article on the BBC about deliveroo type app couriers subcontracting their accounts

Children working as riders for food delivery apps - BBC investigation

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67371473

I see about one of these per day in my small town - generally being ridden fairly sensibly, though obvs still illegal.

People haring around tend to have Surrons or off-road motorcycles.

One occurrence in the text of PSPOs is staff "unable to tell the difference between legal & illegal "Ebikes'", as a justification for banning *all* including attemtping to apply it to EAPCs.

Obvs the term "Ebike" is still emaningless.

Re the headline.

Motorbike or Moped Riders, NOT cyclists.

We're havgin a battle to get the misleading language out of Police press releases, and PSPOs.

Please - not here.

So, you arrive in the UK somehow and submit a claim for asylum, you're put in some kind of accommodation and given vouchers for food. You aren't permitted to work, but you want to work because you want a better life for your family and you want to keep busy. Then you hear about somebody who can get you work - he gives you an account on some platform, maybe Uber eats, that he's bought from the original owner, and her gives you a home built ebike - with a big battery strapped to it and a throttle to control the speed...

Then he takes the money you earn delivering takeaways and gives you a percentage of it, and you have to carry on working for him because you owe him for the bike and the account.

This is what is called 'modern day slavery'.

The delivery companies can't or won't do anything about it. The police should be seizing the illegal bikes and arresting the gang masters.

In Milton Keynes we have a great cycleway network which we call Redways, which I have used for 50 years. In this last year I've had three near misses by speed pedelecs on the Redway, and numerous examples of bad riding too. Many are not couriers and some are youngsters. Also the appearance of bought scooters, not allowed either, some of which are 50 kilos plus, have become a danger. Together with the hired ones both being ridden and scattered around the cycleway system, these issues needs urgent reconsideration. Parents hoping to take the kids out on the bikes will be unable to if this isn't better regulated and actually enforced.

These things are rife in Leeds, gotta say I admire the bravado of the riders, blasting through red lights at busy junctions with no lights and just a balaclava to protect them.

Genuinely surprised the Police / Council haven't stepped in at this point, I see so many close calls on my commute alone, that's not even going down the obvious rabbit hole of them essentially all being illegal mopeds with a throttle etc.

I was in Leeds town centre on a night recently and it's pretty lawless stuff if you're on a delivery bike. If I did any of that stuff on my motorbike or car I'd get nicked. 99% of these riders are always full balaclava'd up as well. Wonder why.

This problem has exploded in recent years. I've had numerous encounters with various riders, on all manner of vehicles. It much more than a bike issue; it's the behaviour of riders. They use all manner of pedestrian paths, subways etc. I've emailed Uber, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Domino's, KFC.
Some of them promise to take action, or claim they 'train' riders. Mostly rubbish.
You can rarely complain directly to the 'apps'. I look up the CEO and board contacts, which I did with KFC. Of course, no reply. They might wake up if there is a death, as happened a while ago to a gig economy courier driver.
Awful phrase, 'gig economy'!

We're calling people riding illegal, unregistered motorbikes "cyclists" are we? Just because the motor is electric? WTF?

Can we stop calling these "illegal e-bikes" please. It just muddies the water and, by association, damages the cause of e/cyclists in general, giving "gammunition" to certain wings of the media. These are electric motor vehicles. They have nothing to do with cycling or cyclists, any more than do Harley Davidson or Honda.

Since delivery companies are already starting to get nobbled to treat their "partners" as employees one can only hope that the next logical step is to include them in the liability of the rider if they cause an accident.

That would put the hook right where it needs to be.

I dont see why police time and money should be wasted on this stuff when there is a corporate who should be held responsible.

A few million pound law suits would soon sort it out.

Hello. They're exactly part of the new slaves needed by Western society . Everyone knows how to ride a bike. No one can have a car license even if they have the money to buy a car. It would be better. So everyone on their bikes: no documents, no insurance and the more deliveries you make, the more you earn. They play into the hands of the food multinationals. A lot of them are coming. Who cares if they kill somebody? Nexxxxxt.... Very well

Good.  Obviously it takes more than a one-off though.  Systemic issues: a) food delivery companies whose entire business plan seems centred around "work around the usual regulations protecting those working for you and the members of the public" and b) clearly there are lots of people looking for a way to make (not very much) cash no-questions asked.

Our Home Secretary has grasped the fact of (b) although I couldn't disagree more with her approach to dealing with this...

The delivery companies need to be forced to take responsibility. A huge number of delivery riders are recent immigrants who don't have a clue what the regulations are, and just do what everyone else is doing. They shouldn't be riding around on illegal bikes, but until the delivery companies are made culpable for their riders, the police are going to be fighting a losing battle.

A similar argument can be directed at 'L-plate' moped riders doing food deliveries. In what other area of commerce is it acceptable to have someone delivering a service using potentially dangerous machinery that they are neither trained nor qualified to use?