Over 100 public e-bikes seized by London council

The City of London seized over one hundred public use e-bikes.

Transcript

00:00Hello, I am in a pretty rainy South London right next to an e-scooter and bike hire.

00:07Now in every city in Europe you are likely to find e-bikes or e-scooters to rent and

00:12take out for a spin. It's supposed to be a budget and eco-friendly way to travel in London

00:17that can be quicker than taking public transport. However, for all it's good, it has been increasingly

00:24common for users to dump bikes and scooters everywhere. In London there are many different

00:29operators including Lime, Tia and Forest. But what do Londoners think of public e-bikes

00:35and scooters and how they are parked?

00:39I mean you see e-bikes all over the place. I think they are incredibly useful. I think

00:43they will grow in popularity and they are a great way to get around a busy city. So

00:47I am not against them at all but I definitely think something needs to be done about where

00:52they are stationed because for, you know, people are not able-bodied. It's not great

00:57if you have to kind of get past a massive mountain of e-bikes just to cross a road.

01:02So I think probably, you know, it's something that needs to be improved on and resolved

01:08but I don't think e-bikes are going anywhere.

01:11I think they are a good thing. I mean my step-sons use them. I get the point but I think it can

01:16be a bit exaggerated to be honest. You know, people go, you know, they are a little bit

01:20annoying but it's not the end of the world.

01:23I've never used them. I have been curious. Yes, I wish they would because some people

01:29just throw them everywhere, blocking the pavements. So yeah, if there's a stricter law or rule

01:37that they have to put it back in where they got it from or in a bike, I don't know, area.

01:45Yeah, that would be great. And maybe penalize them. Yeah, a fine. Not like a parking fine

01:53but say an extra £5, £10 on what they're paying and that would make them, you know,

01:59be more courteous to those who are walking and those who are driving because some of

02:03them leave it in the road as well.

02:05Now more than 100 rental e-bikes obstructing pavements or roads have been seized by a London

02:11council. The City of London Corporation said that e-bikes were stored in a safe location

02:19during the two week operation crackdown. The corporation continued that it had agreements

02:25in place with rental e-bike operations on parking but has since launched its own crackdown

02:31in a response to a number of complaints about e-bikes being left in unsuitable places. Lime

02:39and Forest, two of the largest e-bike providers across the capital, have now both committed

02:44to improving their service according to the local authority. Owning companies were able

02:52to collect their products after paying a fee to cover the cost of removal and storage.