For Islington in particular, Lime says it has put eight more team members on the streets to tidy bikes and remove “excess” vehicles, and is also planning new incentives for riders to move bikes from overcrowded areas through offering discounts and other rewards.
In the absence of a legal framework for dealing with clusters of bikes blocking the borough’s streets, the Town Hall says it has now installed 78 micromobility bays due to go live in the next few months – with hundreds more planned for use by summer 2025.
Islington Council has announced new parking bays and restrictions for dockless bikes as it looks to address concerns about safety, noise and obstruction to public spaces.
Eshwyn Prabhu, Islington’s head of transport strategy and air quality, said that these hired bikes were an important part of the borough’s active travel plans and emissions goals, but their “huge growth had been quite problematic”.
On Tuesday night, councillors at the environment scrutiny committee heard the new plans laid out in full as officials explained how they were working with suppliers to curb London’s “explosion” of e-bikes, as Cllr James Potts put it.
