Cllr Valerie Bossman-Quarshie says the situation has now reached boiling point – and that the council should be more harshly regulating bike companies

A COUNCILLOR has called for bike operators to be fined for users leaving the electric vehicles strewn on the pavements, as complaints about the eco city-trippers continue to rise.

Valerie Bossman-Quarshie, who represents Bunhill ward, said the situation had now reached boiling point, and that the council should be more harshly regulating bike companies like Lime and Forest.

“I get so many residents complaining about the bikes,” Cllr Bossman-Quarshie told the Tribune. “At this point there’s apathy. They’ve told me so many times, taken pictures, sent them, done recordings and videos and nothing changes.”

She added: “It’s got to the point where we need to fine the companies. Fining your users when they ride and dump bikes is ineffective, it doesn’t work. Us as a council need to geo-fence all the estates and go hard on fining the companies and getting that money and putting it in our kitty box to serve our community, repairing pavements, giving it back to children and young people.”

The Bunhill councillor has spent years posting pictures of social media and calling on Lime to clear up bikes left in a haphazard way.

“It’s a health and safety issue. People are parking them right in front of people’s homes. People park them on double yellow lines and across access points for ambulances,” said Cllr Bossman-Quarshie. “These companies have been taking liberties. It’s getting worse and it is a blight on people’s lives.”

Lime bikes pile up in Barnsbury

Alex Berwin, head of policy at Forest, said: “We absolutely recognise the frustration that can be caused when shared e-bikes are parked inconsiderately, and we take our responsibility to the Islington community very seriously.

“We’re actively working with the local council to identify and maintain a growing network of designated parking bays across the borough, making it easier for riders to park responsibly and safely. We issue warnings, fines, and permanent bans for users who misuse our service or leave bikes in obstructive or unsafe locations.”

Islington’s environment chief Councillor Rowena Champion said more bays would be installed to manage the problem – but it was encouraging that there had been six million trips taken by hire e-bikes in Islington last year, adding that this “directly supports our efforts to create a greener, healthier borough by offering environmentally-friendly transport that helps people get active.”

A Lime spokesperson said: “We recognise that one of the most significant challenges facing our industry is the issue of misparked bikes. We take it seriously, which is why outside of fining and banning repeat offenders of poor parking, we have expanded our on-street team who tidy and remove misparked bikes to ease congestion at busy locations. This has led to marked improvements over the last six months.

“We recognise that the significant growth in demand for rental e-bikes can also lead to challenges with overcrowded parking bays and we are working to address this.”