IN BRIEF
Ealing Council, in west London, has voted itself the power to seize, without a court order, shared e-bikes that are badly parked or operated without an agreement, road.cc reports. The bikes will be impounded in a council-owned garage, and operators will have to reimburse the cost of recovering them. The measure is aimed first at Voi, which refused to leave the borough after its licence was not renewed this year, road.cc says. Lime and Forest, which do have an agreement, also face new parking rules, with 300 marked bays on the ground.
In Ealing, the stand-off with Voi is turning physical. The council of this London borough has given itself the means to remove the operator’s bikes itself, and to bill it for their recovery.
Ealing will seize e-bikes without going through a court
Ealing Council last week voted through a measure allowing its officers to seize e-bikes without a court order, road.cc writes, citing the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The council says the new powers will “protect the council from obstructive incursions by an e-bike operator without an agreement in place”. Seized bikes will go to a council-owned garage, and operators will have to reimburse the cost of recovering their fleet.
Voi refuses to leave the borough
road.cc has been following the saga for several weeks: Voi refused to leave after the council chose not to renew its licence this year. The operator disputes the very basis of the decision. road.cc recalls its argument:
“There is no statutory licensing regime that requires a council’s permission to operate dockless e-bikes on the public highway, and we do not believe that the selection process used gives the council grounds to exclude a compliant operator”.
Voi
Voi also points to its prices: the operator claims to be the cheapest per-minute dockless e-bike rental service in London. Yet it says it would “much rather” be operating in Ealing under a formal agreement.
The “Wild West” of shared bikes in London
The Ealing saga, along with the “patchwork” regulation of London’s e-bikes, has led the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to liken the situation to the “Wild West”. Other boroughs have already taken a tougher line: road.cc notes that Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea have already seized bikes parked on junctions and pedestrian crossings on several occasions.
Operators with an agreement are also in the spotlight. The council plans 300 marked bays on the ground for e-bikes, improved geolocation and reports from residents, to push Lime and Forest to enforce parking better.
