Forest to launch first e-bikes with child seats for hire in London - and version with adult passenger seat
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Forest is set to become the first of the capital’s “big three” e-bike hire firms to launch a bike with a child seat and another that allows cyclists to safely carry an adult passenger. The firm, which says it offers London’s “most affordable and sustainable” e-bikes that are used for more than 1.2m journeys a month, expects to have the new models on the capital’s streets by the end of the year.
It has secured £13m of new funding from investors and hopes to expand into Hackney – a key borough for cycling – and launch in Paris. The three new models are the Forest Duo, which has a seat for a passenger behind the cyclist’s saddle, the Forest Kid, which has a child safety seat, and the Forest Cargo, which has a rear luggage rack in addition to the front basket.
More than 10 million trips were made on Forest bikes in 2024, allowing the firm to record its first full year of profitability. It hopes the new types of e-bikes will encourage more Londoners to cycle rather than travel by car. It also hopes to attract more women riders and “achieve gender parity among its riders by 2027”.
Forest has about 15,000 bikes available for hire in the capital. Lime, which is the market leader, is thought to have in excess of 30,000 e-bikes. Transport for London’s Santander-sponsored fleet of 12,000 “Boris bikes” includes about 2,000 e-bikes.
