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Brent Council has warned Lime that it could ban the company’s rental e-bikes from the borough if they do not resolve the obstacle created by the company’s poor parking. The council called for riders to park only in designated areas and proposed a raise in fines for those refusing to do so. Brent Council has asked Lime to work with them or agree to their set of demands if they are to avoid a ban. Lime’s representatives have voiced their willingness to collaborate with the council but requested an increase in the number of parking zones to guarantee convenience for its customers.
Rental e-scooters have already been banned in Paris and Melbourne because of the problem of dangerous driving and bad parking. Last week, Madrid announced a similar move. Brent Council fears that poorly parked e-bikes could become a safety hazard, especially for visually impaired people who use tactile pavement on road crossing. The local authorities want e-bikes stored off pavements completely or in clearly marked and enforced parking zones.
Transport officials want to reduce carbon emissions, but balancing environmental concerns with the need to create safe and accessible communities is a current challenge for town planners. Rental e-bikes operators are not part of a centrally organised scheme and as such, have more freedom. Lime and Forest are the two largest operators in London, and they have a sales model known as dockless, which means riders park them on almost any pavement, depending on the borough. Operators expect riders to follow rules to keep rented bikes out of pedestrian’s ways, but frequently this does not happen.
Finally, Wandsworth Council said it would mostly ban e-bikes being parked on pavements once it had finished building 111 designated parking areas. The move was commended by Lime and Forest. It is suggested that data collected from dockless e-bikes could be helpful for councils when installing parking bays, and having them in areas poorly served by public transport might encourage people to switch from cars to e-bikes, thereby reducing carbon emissions. The Mayor of London’s office is exploring a coordinated scheme to regulate dockless bikes and scooters which could involve stricter parking restrictions
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