At present there are two e-bike operators in Wandsworth: Lime (around 1,400 bikes) and Forest (650 bikes). There were over 600,000 trips taken in Wandsworth in April 2025 compared to 300,000 in April 2024 and over 6 million in the last year, involving over 100,000 unique riders.
It is fair to say that e-bikes have transformed journey opportunities for many people in the Borough and across London, not least for women traveling at night for whom being able to get so close to home is incredibly attractive. However, these need to be balanced against the problems that have arisen for pedestrians and other road users through people parking or abandoning bikes inconsiderately.
So, in 2023 the Council decided to move over time to a mandatory parking arrangement, whereby e-bikes can only be parked only in designated parking bays, starting with town centres. Outside town centres and busy areas bikes may currently be parked on the footway in a ‘sensible location.’ The problem is that e-bikes are not yet covered by any specific legislation, which makes it hard to enforce any action against bad parking.
However, Boroughs can use S149 of the Highways Act 1980, which grants highway authorities the power to remove obstructions from the highway, specifically those that constitute a danger or nuisance, and to recover the associated costs from the person who deposited the obstruction. At the end of a ride the cyclist submits a photo to the operator, which is reviewed by AI technology. Recently Lime has started rolling out new real-time AI tech which should improve parking compliance. If the bike is badly parked the rider gets a warning for a first offence, then fines of £2, £5, £10, and £20 + a ban for subsequent offences.
In summer 2024 complaints to the Council ran at about 50 per month, with an extra 100 per month from residents directly to the operators. 80% of users do not re-offend after their first warning. Latest figures from Lime show they issued 2,389 trip warnings and 205 fines to users in Wandsworth in April 2025. Operators have an obligation to respond to the Council within the hour of receiving a complaint and set out a timescale for how they will action. Lime recently announced a £20 million ‘London Action Plan’ to address e-bike operations, boost cycling and enhance infrastructure. This includes 28 additional on-street staff dedicated to Wandsworth.
Wandsworth is also taking part in the TfL e-scooter rental trial. The only legal way to ride an e-scooter on public roads within London is through this rental scheme as part of a wide government-approved trial. Users must be 18 or over, hold a UK driving license and journeys must start/end in a designated parking bay. There are now 170 designated parking bays across Wandsworth. Two operators took part in the trial: Lime and Voi. Across London there are some 4,800 e-scooters; the initial fleet size in Wandsworth will be 300, 150 for each operator, to be increased once the scheme been integrated and operating effectively. The speed limit for e-scooters in London is 12.5mph. Richmond and Lambeth are already in the trial.
Cllr Malcolm Grimston, West Hill ward
June 2025
