Forum Topic

Council Continues with Crackdown on Lime Bikes

Front page on this site.Of course they should not block pavements.Lime are not the only group that have dockless bikes btw.Where are the designated parking spaces for e-Bikes in Wandsworth?Do they exist yet?Why are there no Santander dockless bikes?With WBC supporting the ULEZ expansion they should be promoting more alternatives to cars.Dockless bikes have a part to play especially with the high theft rates of bicycle.

Ed Robinson ● 1042d19 Comments

So part of the road space should be used then? I can't see it being easy to facilitate on pavements. I'm trying to think of company owned car dedicated spaces on pavements. Can you give examples around here?

David Ainsworth ● 1034d

There's charges for residents and business car parking permits? And care clubs such as Zipcar have to pay for their dedicated bays? So cars do get charged for road space in many places.

Michael Ixer ● 1034d

David who pays for the dedicated spaces provided by company owned cars on the pavement & road?Surely the same rules should apply?

Ed Robinson ● 1034d

"Dedicated spaces should be assigned to them."Paid for by the companies, or assigned for free?

David Ainsworth ● 1034d

"no reason for letting these bike rental businesses use the public pavements to store their products"Private cars use the public pavements in many of Wandsworth's Streets. Some have sign up allowing to park on the pavement. Others just extend from their drive onto the pavement. Electric cars that are charging also make use of the pavement.This of course does not excuse badly parked bikes on the pavement.Dedicated spaces should be assigned to them. Of course it would be better if FTL Santander ran a dockless service than the many private ones. Sensible parking could then be enforced.

Ed Robinson ● 1034d

‘Docking stations are very expensive to buy, install and maintain’But that’s no reason for letting these bike rental businesses use the public pavements to store their products and to ply their trade, unless they pay some licence fee. Otherwise it’s akin to fly-tipping, which I assume is why Wandsworth quite rightly scoops these bikes up and invites the company to collect them.

Peter Evans ● 1034d

Docking station are very expensive to buy, install and maintain. It's the main barrier to rolling out throughout London.Oddly enough, nothing from the mayor's on expanding the Santander bike scheme.

Ed Robinson ● 1034d

Money, money, money, paying out to hire a bike for half an hour. Bikes are everywhere, it's not Oxford, or Amsterdam.

Barbara Stevens ● 1034d

I agree with all that but many people have their bikes stolen from their gardens.It is exactly why shared use bikes are a great idea - and it would seem even better if they are docking since there seems to be such difficulty for some people to park them safely and for others to accept the idea of them.

Philippa Bond ● 1034d

With all respect Philippa bikes do not stay in hangers.It's called transport as in going somewhere else. There are also very few hangers in Wandsworth.I do not use my bike for short journeys because by the time I unlock them, lock them at the destination, unlock them at the destination and then lock them up again at my home - it is quicker to walk if the journey is less than 30 mins one way.With a dockless bike not only are we using a shared resource i.e. it's likely to get more use than a casual cyclist therefore saving manufacturing, distribution etc you do not have to worry about it be stolen by some guy with an angle grinder in broad daylight!

Ed Robinson ● 1041d

With more bike hangars there should be fewer stolen bikes especially if bike owners also remember to lock them up and register them with bikeregister.com and have photos and ID numbers - frame registration to hand.  That all makes it easier to advertise their loss when stolen and also to ID them if and when found.  The police will want proof of ownership.

Philippa Bond ● 1041d

"Won't bike thieves, well, any serious ones, look for the air tags Bluetooth signal and remove them?"Currently I suspect not, but yes if it becomes common practice.Only worth it with an expensive bike. Expensive by my standards that is - which would be more than 10% of my 2016 Carrera.

Ed Robinson ● 1041d

Won't bike thieves, well, any serious ones, look for the air tags Bluetooth signal and remove them?

Michael Ixer ● 1041d

It's a good idea especially as the tech becomes cheaper.The location could be useful if it is an public area - probably abandoned without the wheels.The issue seems to be retrieving the item when it is not in a public area which would require the police or a degree of risk.

Ed Robinson ● 1041d

no I haven't but I understand they are excellent for keeping track of luggage & cars so I am guessing they would work just as well for bikes. There may be a better or cheaper way of tracking a bike but it's not something I have researched.

Adam Tripp ● 1041d

Adam, have you recovered a bike using an air tag?

Ed Robinson ● 1041d

for anyone concerned about bike theft I recommend putting an Apple AirTag in the bike frame

Adam Tripp ● 1041d

Richmond has dedicated parking bays and spaces as does many other boroughs.Wandsworth promised them but I have not seen any.Of course it would be better for TFL to offer such a service but they seem welded to docking stations which are very costly  to buy and install. One of the reasons the Santander cycle scheme has not been expanded.I assume the hardline on hire bikes and the reluctance to allocate space is down to political demographics, i.e they do not see their potentials voters using them. A self fulfilling policy perhaps?

Ed Robinson ● 1041d

Oxford used to have their own shared bike system but unfortunately that closed down after the dockless bikes appeared.  Sadly it seems very difficult to get people to be responsible about where they leave them which of course isn't helped at all by some of the antisocial elements of our society (is that what it is called?) who are so negative about them.  It would be interesting to hear and see how different Councils deal with them.

Philippa Bond ● 1042d