Council signs up to four more years of e-bikes in the borough

It follows a two-year trial with e-bike companies Lime and Forest which has divided opinion across Haringey, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey Council has decided to continue allowing e-bike operators in the borough – despite around half of residents being against the current pilot scheme.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (11th), the local authority formally signed off on a decision to make a four-year deal with two companies.

It follows a trial which started in March 2024 with e-bike operators Lime Technology Ltd and Human Forest (Bikes) Ltd.

During a one-year feedback period, 49% of respondents said they were “dissatisfied” with the scheme. Around 35% reported being “unhappy” while 23% said they were “happy”. The main concerns included lack of cycling infrastructure, abandoned bikes and accessibility issues.

Nevertheless, use in the borough has increased, with 2,000 bikes now available. The council says the monthly ridership has soared from 83,600 when the bikes were introduced to 208,000 by December last year.

A council says the trial enabled it to both get feedback from residents and to “understand cycling demand in the borough, track usage month-to-month, and partially regulate a previously unregulated market”.

A report presented to the local authority made several suggestions for improvement, including larger designated parking bays in popular areas, greater enforcement for unsafe parking and better cycling infrastructure.

The new contract, which will last until the end of March 2030, was put out to tender following a decision by cabinet in September last year. It is not clear which companies have been awarded the two contracts as the council has kept this information out of the public eye for now.

Speaking on Tuesday (10th), Ibrahim Ali, the council’s cabinet member for climate action and environment, said: “Our ambition is clear. We’ve always wanted to deliver a scheme that increases travel choice, supports our climate and air quality commitments.”

Cllr Ali added it was encouraging “more people to cycle confidently across the borough”.

He continued: “We are committed to ensuring that the expansion of the dockless e-bikes service is not to the detriment of other road and pavement users.”

The senior Labour councillor also said he was “confident” the council’s decision to develop the scheme “will play a central role in expanding active travel, improving health and wellbeing and meeting our environment goals”.

He acknowledged the need to address the issue of “bike dumping” on pavements in the borough, something he said would be helped by new, more accurate GPS systems on the bikes which will identify bikes placed outside of designated parking areas.

Cllr Ali recognised some of the concerns but said, with improvements on the way, “broadly speaking this is a good news story”.

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