An investigation by The Guardian has found that London councils have seized 3,393 hazardously parked or abandoned e-bikes this year as hire companies are urged to stop littering streets and blocking pavements.
The figure for this year to date is 23 per cent higher than the number of e-bikes seized throughout 2025. It includes:
- More than 2,000 seizures of e-bikes belonging to rental company Lime
- 978 Forest e-bikes
- 103 Voi e-bikes.
Transport for London (TfL) estimates that one in ten of the 1.5 million daily cycle journeys in the capital are made using dockless e-bikes.
Policy lead at the Royal National Institute of Blind People Erik Matthies said the rise in abandoned e-bikes was ‘overwhelming’ blind and partially sighted people, as well as elderly people and wheelchair users.
He commented, “People are having collisions and injuries due to bikes left on the pavement and the problem is getting worse. There are blind people who tell us they do not go out on their own anymore and they do not make journeys that they used to.”
Camden councillor James Slater said “During the solar eclipse we had swarms of e-bikes around Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath. The operators have a responsibility to make sure the bikes are not causing a public nuisance.”
According to The Guardian, e-bike operators argue councils are not investing sufficiently in building more parking bays, which could help to prevent the buildup of poorly parked bikes on the pavement.
James Slater added, “We need to have a London-wide approach. It’s very difficult for 32 councils in London to all have slightly different policies, and in some cases different operators on borough boundaries.”
The English devolution bill, passed in April 2026, gives local authorities in England powers to license rental e-bike operators and set requirements around parking, safety and accessibility standards. In London, licencing powers now belong to TfL. The Mayor of London’s office said it was working closely with TfL and the Department for Transport (DfT) on the secondary legislation required to implement “much-needed controls as quickly as possible”.
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