An East London borough is set to cut e-bike journey prices and charge dockless cycle hire companies £80 to collect every bike parked dangerously on its streets.
Hackney Council has told firms bidding to operate the borough’s electric bike sharing scheme for at least the next three years that it wants trips capped at £1.75 – the same as a bus fare – to make hiring electric cycles more affordable for residents. The Town Hall stated the two successful bidders for the estimated £93m contract will also have to pay £80 to recover any e-cycles the council impounds due to unsafe or obstructive parking.
Earlier in July, cabinet member for climate, environment and transport, Cllr Sarah Young, set out the proposals as part of the council’s vision for a “fair, safe, accessible, equitable and sustainable” transport system that considers the needs of residents, visitors and businesses. The policies will also “further push the private sector to innovate in key areas”, the Town Hall added, while allowing the council to monitor cycle parking.
By the time the new contract begins in October, the council plans to have created over 1,000 new designated spaces for dockless e-bike parking, which will be managed “much more stringently”. Residents will also have access to a wider variety of bikes, including lighter models.
Most e-bikes in Hackney are currently provided by Lime, which owned by Uber. Beryl also offers e-cargo bike hire services to residents, who can also access TfL’s Santander Cycles.
Local businesses share their views
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked locals to weigh in on how the scheme has panned out in the borough. Eddy Ambrosi, who owns Frizzante Restaurant at Hackney City Farm in Haggerston Park, supported the efforts to “get greener”, but pressed the need for more designated bays. “At the moment it’s a bit of a Wild West,” he said.
Mr Ambrosi pointed to the issue of “messy” Lime Bike parking on the pavements. “People aren’t responsible,” he said. “The shame is that it is also easy to steal [these bikes], and because of this Hackney is one of the most noisy areas because of the beeping. Sometimes people don’t think about it when they just shove it on the floor – it could get in the way of someone with a disability.”
The problem of parking and low-level crime was also raised by Sadiya and Amina Shaikh, who help run their family-owned clothing business, Lookers, in one of Hackney’s busy shopping districts. “It’s a great high street, but it’s got worse with youngsters on e-bikes”, Amina said.
“They’re okay, but people don’t know how to drive them. They expect you to move out of the way and park it wherever they want,” said Sadiya, who complained of cycles being “dumped” outside their shop front. “Someone nearly fell off one once, right outside, and it nearly broke the window. They just walked off.”
On charging carriers to collect badly-parked bikes, Amina suggested it is drivers who should pay recovery costs. “Maybe not £80, but slightly cheaper – more in line with cost-of-living,” she said. Both sisters added that size was also a factor, along with the hire bikes being used by “a lot” of phone snatchers riding up the street.
The LDRS approached Lime, Forest Bike and Tier, which operate either in Hackney or nearby boroughs, about the council’s proposals. The firms either declined to comment or did not respond.
Keep up with the latest East London news. Sign up to our MyEastLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.
