City Hall has urged Transport for London (TfL) to use new regulatory powers granted by the government to crack down on “nuisance” e-bike parking across the capital. The The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act empowers TfL to legally license e-bike operators and potentially cap the number of bikes on London’s streets if necessary, says the Standard.

London boroughs have struggled to properly manage the surge in e-bike popularity in recent years, due to a lack of legal authority and cohesive strategy in different areas.

The Act, passed earlier this year, grants sweeping licensing powers to TfL to establish a single city-wide regulatory framework for dockless e-bike operators. This will introduce new requirements for firms like Lime, Forest and Voi around parking, safety and accessibility, though specific details are yet to be announced.

Assembly Member Elly Baker, who leads the Labour group’s transport brief on the London Assembly, said these powers could turn around the perception of cycling in the city.

“Every Londoner will know that it’s a bit of a Wild West for dockless e-bikes,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

“They tend to be parked often on pavements, nuisance, getting in the way of people. Cycling is getting a bit of a bad rap because lots of what most Londoners see is actually just a load of Lime bikes hanging around, rather than people actually getting about [on them] and going about their business.

“At the moment, TfL and the boroughs don’t have enough powers to make sure these bikes are parked in appropriate places and being used in ways that complement our public transport system, rather than actually compete against it. Dockless e-bikes are really convenient for lots of people but need to work in harmony with the rest of our transport.”

(Picture: Kevin Borras/Highways News)