Dockless Bikes Seized as City of London Cracks Down on Parking

The City of London Corporation cracked down this week on dockless e-bikes not in compliance with “good parking behaviour,” seizing over 100 Lime and Forest bikes from the city’s Square Mile financial district and issuing a total of nearly £25,000 in fines to the companies.

The seizure continues a growing controversy in several London boroughs around the swelling numbers of dockless shared bikes, and issues around parking, according to an article in The Standard.

“Last year Brent council threatened to evict Lime because of issues with abandoned bikes, but eventually struck a compromise deal,” writes Ross Lydall. “According to the City corporation, the crackdown was taken ‘to encourage hire operators to manage their own fleet and customers to comply with good parking behaviour’.”

Lime has offered £5 million to London boroughs to build 2,500 designated bike parking bays and is working with the city to come up with collaborative solutions which Shravan Joshi, the City’s transport chief, called “welcome news.”

The seized bikes were returned to the companies with a £235 release fee per bike — the City’s cost of removal and storage.