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Lime has announced new contracts with four boroughs within the last month, in a sign that the operator and local Councils are collaborating to achieve a more standardised city-wide e-bike framework, as well as increase parking infrastructure.
The latest boroughs to announce formal e-bike agreements with Lime include Lewisham, Kensington & Chelsea, Haringey and Westminster, with the latter launching last week.
It means Lime will operate in contract with almost half of London’s boroughs (15 total), with nine implementing mandatory and dedicated parking areas where Lime’s e-bikes must be left by users.
The creation of these parking areas come as part of wider collaborative efforts with local Councils to reduce obstructive parking on pavements.
This includes the borough of Westminster, with the local council installing and launching over 220 new parking bays alongside hundreds of designated bike racks, all informed by data and investment from Lime, and other operators.
The progress follows the launch of transport consultancy Steer’s report into Lime service in July, which recommended a London-wide framework and the creation of 10,000 parking bays by 2025 to meet growing demand.
More than 1,000 new parking bays and racks will have been introduced across London when all four boroughs with new contracts have launched.
To date, London Lime riders have taken over 12 million e-bike trips between January 2019 and March 2023, with usage growing by an average of 10% per month.
Hal Stevenson, director of olicy UKI at Lime, said: “It’s extremely positive to see so many boroughs across London working with Lime to help meet the record demand we’re seeing for shared e-bikes from residents and visitors.
“We’re making rapid progress towards a more standardised parking framework thanks to these new contracts. By collaborating closely with more local Councils via official agreements we will have been able to implement over 1,000 new parking locations in convenient locations across the city, with more to come before the end of the year.
“These help make our pavements obstruction-free and safer for pedestrians, while creating a service that remains user-friendly and convenient for the 1.25 million people that ride Lime in our city.”
Lime has also conducted new analysis of its trip data to explore where demand for shared e-bikes is seeing the highest growth in the city.
Its data shows usage is highest where there is dedicated cycle infrastructure in place, while there is a vast geographical spread for top ride locations.
Read more: Beryl’s shared mobility scheme in Hertsmere nears 13,000 journeys
With a mix of locations spanning Central, North, South, East and West London in the top 10, it highlights how demand for Lime’s service is London-wide and provides an important mode for people to connect to public transport hubs.
Lime’s top 10 London cycle routes 2023
- Blackfriars Bridge
- Victoria Embankment
- London Bridge
- South Carriage Drive
- West Carriage Drive
- Vauxhall Bridge
- Waterloo Bridge
- Oxford Street
- Hyde Park Bike Path
- Pritchards Road
Lime’s top 5 London ride locations (Sept 2023)
- Brixton
- Highbury & Islington
- Hackney
- King’s Cross
- Shepherd’s Bush
