Furious homeowner says abandoned e-bikes repeatedly block spaces

Furious homeowner says abandoned Lime e-bikes repeatedly block parking spaces outside his home and rental firm is doing nothing to stop it – amid calls for crackdown on dumped cycles clogging up roads and pavements

  • Andrew White, 47, says dumped Lime Bikes are causing a plethora of problems
  • Issue of the abandoned bikes is becoming increasingly prevalent across London

A furious resident has said he is ‘fed up’ of his road being clogged up by abandoned hire bicycles that prevent him from parking his car – amid calls for a crackdown on the the rented bikes.

Andrew White, 47, says the dumped Lime Bikes are causing a plethora of problems for elderly locals in Willesden, north west London.

The issue of bikes and e-scooters being left strewn on streets and pavement is becoming increasingly prevalent across the capital, with one council vowing to fine unlicensed rental firms as part of a crackdown earlier this year.

The bikes are hired using an app and are supposed to be left in designated docking areas, but plumber Andrew says Sandringham Road has become a hot spot.

He said: ‘It’s difficult to park here as it is and there’s a lot of elderly people living on this road. It makes you very frustrated, you feel like no one is listening.

The dumped Lime Bikes are causing a plethora of problems for elderly locals in Willesden, north west London

Andrew White (pictured) says he has complained to the e-bike firm on 15 occasions, but the issue remains unsolved

Residents in Sandringham Road are finding it difficult to park, with spaces often blocked by the e-bikes

‘I’m getting fed up with it – they’re left in bays or on the pavement, they’re thrown anywhere really.

‘I’ve got a show car and I spend a lot of money on my car, if my car gets damaged by it I’ll be going for them.’

READ MORE: Crackdown on unlicensed e-bikes littering London

 

Andrew says he first raised a complaint with Lime via email on March 16, sending the company pictures to illustrate his point.

He was told a local agency would be sent out to resolve the issue, but nothing has yet been done.

Andrew also claims he was also told they would designate the area as a ‘no parking zone’, but that he has continued to find bikes dumped on the road.

He has contacted the firm 15 times, but the issue remains unsolved.

The plumber added: ‘I’ve started sending them pictures of the bikes being dumped all down our road – they’re just thrown on the pavement or in the road. It’s not right – they say they’re going to deal with it but nothing gets done.

‘Personally, I think its people not even on our road, you see youngsters riding them and all sorts of people riding them.

‘I’ve contacted them about 15 times all they respond with is “we’re dealing with it”.’

It comes after Westminster Council decided to take action against rental firms over their inaction in February.

None of the companies need any licensing to set up shop in London and the Department for Transport admitted to MailOnline that it intends to change that.

Westminster City Council (WCC) is one of a number of local authorities intending to crack down on the plague of abandoned bikes and e-scooters.

People took to cycling at a massive rate during the pandemic.

The bikes – which are hired using an app – are supposed to be left in designated areas but are often left abandoned

The issue of bikes and e-scooters being left strewn on streets and pavement is becoming increasingly prevalent across the capital

The number of miles travelled by cyclists rose by 46.1 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019, and 15.7 per cent in 2021 in relation to the same year.

Meanwhile, the number of cycle lanes in London alone rocketed during Covid as councils jumped on the bandwagon to cut down on car use.

In 2021, a whopping 12 per cent of Londoners pedalled on a bike at least once a week, rising to 16 per cent in Westminster.

This cycling boom has resulted in an influx of dockless cycle and e-scooter companies to Britain’s towns and cities.

However, the surge in e-transport has led to an infestation of abandoned bikes and e-scooters all over the UK.

Some users are charged as little as £2 for dumping bikes in the middle of the pavement.

Westminster council has called for dockless bike companies to agree a ‘fine structure’ to ensure all companies are charging users the same penalties if they park their bikes irresponsibly.

Abandoned bikes are particularly tiresome for people with disabilities such as blindness and have left people thinking nowhere is safe on the pavement anymore.

The National Federation of the Blind’s Sarah Gayton told MailOnline: ‘They need to be stopped, docked and locked.

‘We want them off the streets now. They haven’t been kept off the pavement. They are in frustrating places. We don’t feel safe on any level.

An abandoned Tier bike lying on the pavement on Borough High Street, Borough in central London 

A Lime bike on Kennington Park Road in Kennington, south London, amid a crackdown from councils

The number of cycle lanes in London rocketed during Covid as councils jumped on the bandwagon to cut down on car use. Pictured: A Dott bike on the lying on pavement in Bermondsey, London

‘The government should have the moral compass to say to the people selling them, ”you have got to stop”.

Hal Stevenson, Senior Public Affairs Manager at Lime said: ‘Lime understands the importance of not obstructing pavements and other shared spaces.

‘It is vital to ensure our service works for all, and this information has been shared with our local operations team to survey this area closely moving forward.

‘There are a number of ways we encourage riders to park safely and responsibly at the end of their journey, and we take action against those that do not.

‘Riders are required to take an “end-trip photo” of how they park – these photos are reviewed, with users warned and fined for mis-parking.

‘We also have an on-street team to help make sure vehicles are well-maintained and not obstructing pavements.

‘Reports of obstructive parking should be sent to [email protected], and our Lime foot patrollers will commit to moving any obstructive vehicles within a short time-frame.’

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