E-bike operators could face £10k fines in the City

Dockless e-bike firms operating in the City of London could face fines of up to £10,000 if they fail to tackle antisocial parking and poor rider behaviour.

Under a new agreement with the City of London Corporation, operators Lime, Forest and Voi must abide by strict guidelines on parking allocations and enforcement action.

The expanded Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) also requires the companies to make increased financial contributions, which are projected to generate £455,360 annually for the local authority.

The move follows a count in the Square Mile last summer that showed a five-fold surge in dockless e-bikes compared with the previous two years.

Whilst providing a popular active travel option, the influx has led to mounting frustration over abandoned bikes cluttering pavements.

Under the new penalty regime, operators risk being fined up to £10,000 for repeated failures.

A penalty could be triggered if an operator fails to issue warnings or fines for non-compliant parking, resulting in a gap of 25% or more between actual and expected enforcement.

Firms will also be required to meet standards on affordability and data sharing, as well as backing safety and courtesy campaigns for riders.

Jacqui Webster, a councillor at the Corporation, told a committee meeting: "We are very good in this country at running flu jabs, drink aware, smoking campaigns.

"Why can we not do the same through our dockless bike operators?"

Tom Sleigh told Tuesday's meeting that while management required improvement, the rise in ridership positively supported the Corporation's active travel goals.

The updated MoU follows a fixed penalty notice (FPN) trial conducted between March and May.

A report revealed 779 notices were issued to operators over illegal parking during that period.

Lime received the most reports (449) and FPNs (90), followed by Forest (319 reports, 34 FPNs) and Voi (11 reports, 5 FPNs).

The Corporation confirmed that issuing FPNs is now a standard, business-as-usual practice alongside the new MoU penalties.

Analysis by Tom Edwards, BBC London transport correspondent

Dockless e-bike hire is booming in London, and while it is a greener, cleaner form of transport it does lead to massive clumps of bikes that can block pavements.

Councils are trying to crack down. In the recent election, one councillor told me it was the number one issue he was coming across from voters on the doorstep.

Some councils have started seizing badly parked bikes, and there has also been criticism that councils are not charging operators enough.

The City of London has a particular challenge as a central destination.

It will certainly be interesting to see if this latest deal solves the bad parking and gets riders to park responsibly, at the moment, the sheer number of bikes badly parked swamp the parking bays.

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