Scattered across pavements, propped against trees and toppled over in bushes, dozens of electric Lime bikes have begun to dominate a 200-metre stretch of road just south of Chiswick Bridge. This is the point where the motors on the hired bikes abruptly stop functioning as they cross the boundary between Richmond and Hounslow, a frontline in what residents describe as a turf war between rival companies.
While ebikes for hire have become an increasingly popular mode of transport in London, fractured regulation means customers can ride them through some boroughs with ease but find that in others they cannot ride or park them.
This has led to bikes accumulating on either side of Chiswick Bridge as customers are forced to dismount and abandon their transportation. The comedian Dara Ó Briain said in a post on X this week it had turned the bridge into “Checkpoint Charlie”.
He posted: “Hounslow council have banned Lime bikes, and licensed Forest and Voi; neighbouring Richmond has licensed Lime and banned the others. So every bridge is Checkpoint Charlie, with loads of Lime bikes parked on one side and loads of Forest and Voi on the other. Top work everyone!”
Thomas Letch: ‘The first day I didn’t know [the change] had happened, so you cycle over and the electricity just stopped.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
Thomas Letch, who works for a sports recruitment company in Richmond, said he needed two subscriptions to cycle hire companies to get to work. “It’s a sort of turf wars with ebikes,” said Letch, who had arrived on a Forest bike, crossed the bridge by foot and was unlocking a Lime bike for the final leg of his journey to work.
“The first day I didn’t know [the change] had happened, so you cycle over and the electricity just stopped, so to get home it becomes a much harder cycle back.”
The situation has arisen after Lime lost its contract to operate in Hounslow early this month. The council required the company to geofence the borough so that its bikes could not be parked there and so their electrical functions would not work for anyone cycling through, making the heavy bikes hard to pedal.
Max Spiers, 25, a student who docked a Lime bike on the side of the pavement as he headed to a gym in Hounslow, said he had noticed bikes being abandoned by the bridge immediately after the council’s decision.
“If they’re banning it in Hounslow they might as well ban it everywhere,” he said. “I think they just need to agree on the same rules for everyone or its only going to get worse.”
Hounslow, across the bridge from Richmond, has licensed Voi and Forest bikes. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
Hounslow’s decision disappointed Lime, which defended its record and said its service connected local residents with the rest of the city, and neighbouring Richmond council.
“Local authorities should be working to make active travel options easier, not more complicated,” said Alexander Ehmann, the chair of Richmond council’s transport and air quality committee. “Hounslow’s recent decision seems to have underestimated the impact on riders to and from neighbouring boroughs, including Richmond.”
A screengrab of the Lime app showing available ebikes near Chiswick Bridge. Photograph: PA
Many local residents were concerned about the lack of parking enforcement for the bikes. While there were designated bays for bikes on the Hounslow side, Lime bikes in Richmond were left scattered around the pavement.
Cynthia Brace, a retiree who walks past the line of abandoned Lime bikes on her way to her twice-weekly yoga sessions, said she was frustrated by the situation.
“It’s a nuisance and an eyesore. They’re left everywhere and get in your way. I don’t know who’s supposed to be picking them,” Brace said. “Look at the way they’re left, there should be a place to park them properly.”
When announcing its decision to issue contracts only to Lime’s rivals Forest and Voi, Hounslow council said it was looking into enforcing better parking of hired ebikes, after complaints about how they are left when users finish with them.
A council spokesperson said the issue of bikes being left also came up in other areas where bikes could not operate in another borough. “We recognise that a borough-by-borough approach can be confusing for users and we continue to work closely with Transport for London and neighbouring boroughs to make the case to the Department for Transport for a pan-London approach,” they said.
‘They’re left everywhere and get in your way.’ Photograph: Lucy North/PA
A spokesperson for Lime said that after Hounslow’s decision it was deploying more teams to redistribute bikes left near Chiswick Bridge and that it hoped a solution could be found.
“Lime operates across London, so it’s important people are able to cycle through Hounslow on their way to other parts of London. We’ve already been contacted by many riders who are angry at the disruption this has caused to their journey,” the spokesperson said.
Alex Berwin, the head of policy at Forest, said the issue highlighted the need for pan-London regulation. “We need a single regulatory framework, one enforcement model and one operational rulebook across the capital, whilst ensuring services support the local needs of each borough,” Berwin said. “This will get more people moving in ways that promote healthier, sustainable lifestyles and ease congestion.”
