Residents are urging a London council to reverse its decision to ban Lime e-bikes from being parked or hired in the borough. A petition demanding Richmond Council rethink its decision to switch e-bike providers from Lime to Forest has gained more than 1,500 signatures in three weeks.
The petition, launched by resident Esther Van De Pette, warned withdrawing Lime from the borough would reduce transport options available to residents and visitors by making it more difficult to use e-bikes.
It said this would impact areas like Barnes with less frequent public transport services than other London boroughs and congested roads, which had been made worse by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to vehicles in 2019.
The petition said: “As well as disrupting established travel patterns, including school journeys, it risks negative impacts on local businesses and visitor access. The justification for the decision relies on benefits that could be achieved without exclusivity and appears to prioritise limited financial gain over public utility.
“I implore the council to rethink this decision and consider a model that accommodates multiple e-bike providers, which will ensure that all residents of the borough, especially those in underserved areas like SW13, have access to effective and reliable transport options.”
The council’s transport committee agreed to award exclusive operating rights for e-bike services to Forest on March 16, effectively banning Lime bikes from being hired or parked in the borough when it comes into force in summer.
It’s likely that Lime bikes will simply stop working when entering Richmond once the changeover has taken place, however that’s not been confirmed.
The council said the new arrangement would deliver a good deal for users through more competitive pricing and more bikes, while riders would get full access to neighbouring boroughs Kingston and Hounslow – where Forest was the designated e-bike provider.
The authority said it would also receive a major annual concession payment from Forest to “deliver value and resilience for taxpayers in a challenging time”.
But Residents in Barnes told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they did not believe switching to another single operator would resolve issues caused by e-bikes in the borough. They said they felt the council should be encouraging rather than potentially restricting their use.
Robin Coghlan, 72, said the move could result in fewer people using e-bikes in Richmond if the service became more inconvenient.
Robin said: “People will use their cars more and most of the time people are driving cars with just themselves inside and you’re taking this huge amount of metal and plastic and glass and rubber around that you don’t need to, where a bicycle is a very efficient way of doing it and should be encouraged.”
He added: “We are very well connected here, for buses and for trains, but for that final journey it’s very useful to have the bicycle – particularly with Hammersmith Bridge being closed – where people can walk over the bridge, get on a Lime bike and then do the rest of their journey or even start on a Lime bike the far side of the bridge and go all the way.”
Friends Wendy Gilley, 83, and Hildi Plunkett, 86, said the council should focus on solving problems caused by e-bikes rather than switching to another single provider.
Wendy said she wanted the council to introduce more designated bays for e-bikes and prevent people from being able to dump them on the pavements, which caused safety and accessibility problems.
Hildi said: “I don’t see why the council is going from one company to another. I don’t understand that.”
She added: “Identify some of the problems and fix the problems, rather than go by another provider.”
Lime has been the sole provider of e-bikes in the borough since the council entered into a contract with the firm in 2021. There were more than 1.5 million e-bike trips in the borough last year – an increase of 50 per cent on the previous year.
Residents provided feedback on e-bikes in Richmond ahead of a scrutiny meeting in June last year, with many respondents expressing a desire for the service to continue but under greater control.
The committee agreed the service should continue at the meeting and the cap on the number of e-bikes should be increased from 250 to 750 in the borough, with an option to rise to 1,000 overall. It also agreed to increase the supply of e-bike parking bays from 65 to at least 150 to reduce the number left blocking the pavements.
The council then invited bids from operators to provide e-bikes in Richmond for the next three years, which it received from Lime, Forest and Voi. The authority considered having one operator with a fleet cap of 1,500 e-bikes, or two operators with a fleet cap of 750 e-bikes each.
A council report revealed Lime scored slightly higher than Forest for quality when bidding for the new contract, but Forest ranked higher for pricing plan – meaning it scored the highest overall.
It said Forest as a single operator had the “best overall proposal”, after considering whether to switch to a two-operator model.
Green councillors criticised the council’s decision over concerns switching to another single provider would not improve the service in Richmond.
Green councillor Andrée Frieze, opposition leader, said: “Two e-bike companies provide more choice for residents, resilience against operator failure and better connectivity across the whole of London. Simply swapping one monopoly for another does not improve the service overall for Richmond residents.”
Regarding the petition, Councillor Frieze added: “I support the aims of the residents’ petition for the council to reconsider its decision to award the contract to only one e‐bike provider. This would ensure resilience to this transport service which, as it is provided by privately owned companies that council have no control over, needs to be ensured.
“We have seen what happens when this kind of vital service is removed from the borough, such as with the sudden closure of Zipcar in December.
“Nonetheless, while I stand by my view that two e-bike providers in Richmond are better than a monopoly, Lime’s tactics over the decision not to award them a new contract, do not enhance their reputation at all.”
The council said it was finalising the new contract and would work with both operators to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangement.
A Richmond Council spokesperson said: “Richmond currently operates a sole‑operator model, so there is no change to the level of choice available to residents.
“Forest already operates in all neighbouring London boroughs – including Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Kingston, and Wandsworth – meaning residents will not only be able to continue to be able to travel freely between some boroughs, as they have done in the past, but importantly the new arrangement will support wider cross‑borough connectivity, enabling trips into all neighbouring boroughs for the first time.”
Lime has been contacted for comment.
