Abandonment Issues – How A Lack Of Regulation Is Leading To An Increase In The Dumping Of Dockless Rental E-bikes Across London

As recently reported by the BBC, decisions by Hounslow and Richmond councils to license competing dockless e-bike rental companies in their areas have led to the creation of what comedian Dara Ó Briain described as a modern day Checkpoint Charlie. Hounslow council has licensed Forest and Voi, but on the other side of the Thames, Richmond council has given permission to rival Lime.

Under an agreement between the councils, the electric motors in Lime's e-bikes are programmed to cut out when they are ridden over the threshold between the two London Boroughs, rendering them heavy and very difficult to ride. This has caused riders to dump their Lime bikes at crossings on the Richmond side of the Thames, with Forest and Voi users abandoning their bikes on the other (Hounslow) end.

With the situation worsening, there are a growing number of voices joining the call for new legislation to be urgently introduced to regulate the sector.

Obstructions and safety concerns

One of the greatest benefits of dockless e-bikes is just that – they're dockless. Riders have the freedom to ride from one place to another without having to worry about finding a docking station with space to secure their bike at the end of a journey. However, this is also one of their largest criticisms.

Poor parking of dockless e-bikes causes problems for road users, especially where bikes are dumped in parking bays meant for vehicles or are left precariously at the side of the street, causing obstructions if they get knocked over into the road. For pedestrians, e-bikes left at the top of staircases, outside shop doorways and in the middle of payments put, in particular people with visual impairments, wheelchair users and others with special needs, at risk of collisions, trips and falls.

At a session of Mayor's Question Time back in November 2023, Sadiq Khan was asked what measures were being taken to address the abandonment of e-bikes on London's streets and footpaths.

The Mayor's answer was short: he simply didn't have any powers to control how dockless e-bike rental services were run. The solution? The Mayor urged the Government to enact urgent legislation to give cities the powers to properly manage rental e-bikes.

Now nearly two years on, much needed regulation is still not in place. However, that might soon start to change.

Proposed legislation

In a White Paper on English devolution published in December 2024, the Government said it wanted to empower Local Transport Authorities to regulate on-street micromobility schemes so that local areas can shape these schemes around their needs and tackle the "scourge of badly parked cycles and e-cycles".

The suggested powers have been included in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which is making its way through Parliament and is currently on its second reading. The Bill will amend the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 by providing a structure under which licensing authorities can license the provision of micromobility vehicles, including dockless rental e-bikes. The current wording of the Bill would make it an offence for a person to provide a micromobility service without having a license.

Problem solved?

The Bill should help alleviate the issue mentioned at the start of this post since the right to license will be taken away from individual councils and given to larger combined authorities, or Transport for London (TfL) in the case of Greater London. If, for example, Lime (or any other provider) seeks a license from TfL, they should be given operating rights for the whole of Great London, including all of its constituent boroughs.

However, since the Bill only creates a framework under which subordinate legislation can be enacted, it won't itself solve many of the problems being faced right now.

As for anticipated future regulations, will they require riders to have a provisional or full UK driving license, or be at least 18 years old, like the rules relating to the rental of e-scooters in approved trial areas? Will there be restrictions on where dockless e-bikes can be parked and who will be liable if they are ignored (currently it is primarily the operator's responsibility to ensure bikes are parked in safe and suitable locations). Exactly how much freedom will be given to licensing authorities or will the Government retain some powers for itself?

These are just some of the questions will need to be answered by any regulations made under the Bill.

Whilst we can look to the wording of the Bill for clues as to what the Government might be thinking (for example, the Bill provides that the Secretary of State may make regulations requiring licensing authorities to work collaboratively with others), we will ultimately just have to be patient to see how to see exactly how the Government decides to tackle these issues in any future regulations.

Progress is being made, just very slowly.