Transport for London (TfL) has threatened enforcement motion, together with fines, in opposition to e-bike sharing corporations who fail to make sure their bikes are parked appropriately.
There are at present over 30,000 dockless e-bikes out there for rent in London, with Lime being the most important operator. Forest and Tier additionally make up the town’s fleet.
In a bid to curb obstructive parking, TfL has launched a brand new enforcement coverage, saying it can “take into account taking motion” in opposition to corporations who “permit their bikes to be parked exterior of designated locations”.
Such locations embrace obstruction on the town’s pink routes – its busiest highways – and on TfL land, which counts station entrances and bus garages.
TfL has additionally allotted £1 million this 12 months for 7,500 new e-bike parking areas, and plans so as to add 800 extra on pink routes by subsequent summer season.
An announcement launched by TfL on Tuesday mentioned: “Dockless rental e-bikes and e-scooters are an essential a part of London’s transport community, serving to individuals get round sustainably and connecting them to different transport modes.
“Nonetheless, problematic parking of the automobiles may cause vital questions of safety for a lot of Londoners, significantly disabled and older individuals, and these points have been exacerbated by current will increase in fleet sizes.”
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Any motion taken wouldn’t come in opposition to the customers of the e-bikes, however quite their working corporations, who TfL says are “liable for making certain their bikes are deployed and parked appropriately”.
The enforcement course of might embrace warning letters, mounted penalty notices, prosecution and elimination of e-bikes.
The clampdown comes as a part of a brand new enforcement coverage, put in place this month. Inside the coverage, TfL cites part 137 of the Highways Act, which states: “If an individual, with out lawful authority or excuse, in any manner wilfully obstructs the free passage alongside a freeway he’s responsible of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a time period not exceeding 51 weeks or a nice or each.”
Prosecution, the transport physique has mentioned, will come as an “motion of final resort”.
Spokespeople for each Forest and Lime have welcomed TfL’s new coverage, with the latter saying it “underlines the pressing want for elevated parking areas throughout the capital”.
The coverage was additionally welcomed by Will Norman, London’s strolling and biking commissioner, who mentioned: “The Mayor’s million-pound funding into further parking areas, together with this scheme to make sure that automobiles are parked responsibly, will make London safer and extra accessible for everybody.”
Use of motorcycle rental schemes are at an all-time excessive within the UK, the place extra they make up greater than 65,000 journeys a day.
