Striking the Right Balance for E-Bikes
This week, I met with the CEO of Lime, along with their CFO and UK Director. Lime has seen remarkable success, with an 85% increase in trips from 2023 to 2024 and a 61% rise in total riders (I must admit, I’m one of them!). With 16 million journeys taken during London’s commuting hours in 2024, their presence on the streets is undeniable—but so too are the challenges posed by bikes cluttering our pavements.
Lime is well aware of these issues, and this meeting provided an opportunity to ensure their global senior leadership fully understands the impact. They are in London to launch their new campaign, “Helping Londoners Do London,”and to reinforce their commitment to being a collaborative partner in the city. As part of this, they have announced a £20 million action plan to address key concerns:
Team
🔹 At least 70 additional on-street patrollers focused on high-usage areas to clear obstructive bikes and redistribute them more effectively.
Technology
🔹 Real-time AI trip-end photos to prevent bad parking immediately, rather than addressing it after the fact.
🔹 Enhanced GPS accuracy and new Bluetooth beacons for better bike placement.
🔹 Rider incentives to encourage parking in less congested areas.
🔹 In-app destination entry to direct users to the nearest designated parking spot.
Infrastructure
🔹 Funding new parking bays in the City through Lime’s Parking Infrastructure Fund.
🔹 A dedicated private land parking taskforce to collaborate with building owners and utilize underused cycle parking spaces.
In addition, Lime is launching a safe riding campaign to promote responsible cycling and adherence to the Highway Code.
All of these measures are welcome and complement the legislation the City is supporting through London Councils and TfL. Meanwhile, the City has also introduced its own clean-up campaign, which should further reduce pavement obstructions caused by poorly parked bikes.
Shravan Joshi
(Chair of Planning & Transportation, City of London & Member of the London Councils Transport and Environment Board)
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