Transport for London’s plans to overhaul the city’s regulations for e-bike hire look set to be delayed after the Department for Transport confirmed plans to hold a public consultation.

Each London borough has tendered out contracts to e-bike providers for fixed periods of time, with several councils signing exclusive agreements that prohibit other providers from operating within areas of the city, says ebiketips. The system has created a patchwork map of operators across the capital, and has also led several areas to overflow with parked e-bikes, often to the irritation of pedestrians and cyclists alike.

The English Devolution Act, which became law in April earlier this year, gives the Mayor of London power to determine the licensing and regulation of e-bikes across the city.

The announcement was welcomed by both e-bike operators and City Hall, with a TfL spokesperson saying: 

“We welcome the new legislation which will provide TfL with powers to regulate dockless bikes across London and introduce consistent safety standards.

This will give us the future ability to replace the current patchwork, borough-by-borough approach with a consistent London-wide licensing scheme. We’re already working closely with boroughs and partners to develop proposals for that scheme and will set out further details in due course.”

However, the relevant powers to introduce city-wide licensing are reliant on the Department for Transport separately setting out additional regulations. And a spokesperson has suggested those regulations being announced soon is unlikely, confirming the department “will set out new regulations and guidance for the licensing of hire schemes after a public consultation, which will launch in the coming months.”

(Picture: Kevin Borras/Highways News)