E-Bike Trial Overview
Trial History
Prior to Summer 2023, shared e-bikes in Hounslow were operating under an unauthorised free-floating model (i.e. the e-bikes could be parked wherever the user saw fit). As the use of e-bikes has greatly increased in recent years, a more formalised scheme was needed to help minimise instances of bikes being left in an obstructive manner on footpaths and carriageways.
In response, the Cabinet approved an e-bike scheme trial on 18th April 2023. The trial introduced dedicated e-bike parking bays in which the e-bikes must be parked and, in partnership with the operator, implemented warnings/fines/bans for non-compliant parking in order to better regulate e-bike operations.
Trial Decision Reports
The April 2023 Cabinet report (read the report here) delegated authority to the Assistant Director Traffic, Transport & Parking to approve the locations for the e-bike bays as site selection work was completed. Chief Officer Decision (COD) reports for each phase of the e-bike scheme were published as follows:
The table below provides the COD report link for each ward as well as detailed location plans for each parking bay (the location plans are appendices to the COD reports). In some cases, bay locations were adjusted in later phases, which is why some of the wards have multiple CODs and location plans.
|
Ward |
Phase |
COD Report(s) |
Location Plan(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bedfont |
3 & 4 |
||
|
Brentford East |
1 |
||
|
Brentford West |
1 & 3 |
||
|
Chiswick Gunnersbury |
1 |
||
|
Chiswick Homefields |
1, 3 & 4 |
App 1: Chiswick Homefields Locations |
|
|
Chiswick Riverside |
1 |
||
|
Cranford |
3 |
||
|
Syon & Brentford Lock |
1 & 2 |
||
|
Feltham North |
3 |
||
|
Feltham West |
3 |
||
|
Hanworth Village |
3 |
||
|
Hanworth Park |
3 & 4 |
||
|
Heston Central |
3 |
||
|
Heston East |
3 |
||
|
Heston West |
3 |
||
|
Hounslow Central |
2 |
||
|
Hounslow East |
2 |
||
|
Hounslow Heath |
2 |
||
|
Hounslow South |
2 |
||
|
Hounslow West |
2 & 4 |
||
|
Isleworth |
2 & 3 |
||
|
Osterley and Spring Grove |
2 & 3 |
Launch of the E-bike Scheme Trial (Summer 2023)
Following approvals, the Council launched the e-bike trial in June 2023. This included introducing over 260 mandatory parking bays. The bays are predominantly located in existing carriageway parking bays, with a smaller number of footway bays provided where suitable.
The e-bike parking bays were delivered across three key geographic areas of the borough, in four phases:
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Phase 1: launched in Brentford and Chiswick (known as Area 1) on 5 June 2023.
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Phase 2: launched in Isleworth, Hounslow, Osterley and Spring Grove (known as Area 2) on 10 July 2023.
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Phase 3: launched in Bedfont, Cranford, Feltham, Hanworth and Heston (known as Area 3) on 18 September 2023, along with some minor amendments to the bays in Areas 1 and 2.
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Phase 4: minor amendments to the scheme completed across all areas in autumn 2023, based on scheme feedback.
Consultation during the Trial
In addition to the Cabinet and Chief Officer Decision approvals outlined above, the Council consulted on the draft Kerbside Strategy in summer/autumn 2023, which provided the opportunity for comments on the general principles of the scheme. Residents near the parking bays also received letters outlining the process and proposed bay locations, with opportunity for comment.
The parking bays were implemented through an experimental traffic management order (ETMO) for an initial six months, with the possibility of extension to up to 18 months. As part of the ETMO process, the Council was required to collect feedback for the first 6 months of the trial, at minimum. This was later extended to 12 months (see below). As such, residents, businesses and members were able to provide feedback throughout the entire length of trial, which was recorded and reviewed. In response to feedback, initial adjustments were made to parking bays in the first 6 months of operation, where appropriate.
Metrics
A range of data was collected throughout the trial period and was used to inform a decision on the scheme. This includes the trial feedback outlined above as well as data from Lime on the number of trips made each month, the number of scheme users, key origins and destinations, collision data, numbers of scheme users receiving fines/bans. For the trial to be considered a success, on balance these metrics had to have demonstrated that the scheme has been a positive addition to the borough’s transport network. Any negative consequences need to be carefully managed or steps put in place to mitigate/reduce these as far as possible.
Initial Results
The trial period results were positive, particularly when compared to the unauthorised free-floating scheme that was in operation up to June 2023. Key findings include:
Users and Ridership:
-
At the start of the trial in June 2023, there were around 11,500 active Lime users in Hounslow and just over 40,000 trips started in the borough that month. By September 2024, the scheme had grown to 23,250 active users and over 93,400 trip starts in the borough. This represents a 132% increase in ridership and 100% increase in active users over 16 months.
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The average Lime bike trip in Hounslow is around 2.3 km and lasts about 10 minutes. That means in September 2024 alone, e-bike scheme users starting a trip in Hounslow travelled approximately 220,000+ kilometers and cycled for over 15,566 hours (the equivalent of 648 days).
Parking Compliance:
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Scheme monitoring shows that 95% of trip ends are parked compliantly. Users who do not park within a bay at the end of their trip face a fine, the level of which increases after each use, before they are ultimately banned from the scheme. Since January 2024, an average of around 500 users per week were fined for improper parking in Hounslow. This number has dropped from over 1,000 fines per week in August 2023, mirroring improvements in parking compliance rates. Lime acknowledges that there is always likely to be a degree of user error that will be difficult to eliminate completely given the volume of trips starting and ending in the borough.
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It should be noted that in the absence of dedicated bays for the e-bikes, local authorities do not currently have the power to prevent operators from deploying a free-floating fleet (i.e. e-bikes not parked in dedicated bays) in the borough. This is expected to change under the new Transport Bill that is being developed by government, but the timescales for this are uncertain. The borough, along with London Councils, wrote to Simon Lightwood MP, the MP for Local Transport, to lobby for regulation. Subsequently, the English Devolution White Paper (16 Dec 2024) outlined the Government’s intent to empower Local Transport Authorities (including TfL) to regulate on-street micromobility schemes, and the Department of Transport have begun engagement on this topic.
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TfL, London Councils and London boroughs are exploring the design of one coordinated future scheme to manage dockless e-bikes and e-scooters in London, through a contract, to improve parking, while increasing the quality and sustainability of services in London. The borough has expressed an intent to join this scheme. TfL also announced they are taking enforcement action against e-bike operators who deploy bikes outside designated parking places on red routes and TfL land. TfL’s offer to test this approach will inform London Boroughs’ implementation of similar measures and Hounslow will monitor this pilot carefully to help define our own, local approach.
Operator Response Times:
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The Council’s agreement with Lime sets out operator response times dictating how quickly the operator is expected to respond to issues such as mis-parked or damaged bicycles. Where a Lime bike is damaged/not operational (but not causing an obstruction), it must be removed within 24 hours from the time of receipt of notification and repaired before returning to the fleet. Where a Lime bike presents a danger or obstruction, it must be removed within 2 hours from the time of receipt of notification. Council staff monitor response times and to date Lime has been meeting the required timelines.
E-Bike Scheme Review (Autumn 2024)
The e-bike scheme is part of Hounslow’s Kerbside Strategy, which was approved on 16 July 2024. Read the Cabinet report here. The Cabinet report recommended that the e-bike trial be extended from 6 to 12 months so that data for a full 12-month period could be evaluated in each of the three e-bike areas. This gave residents the opportunity to try using the e-bikes across all seasons and provide feedback on the scheme.
The 16 July 2024 Cabinet report also delegated authority to the Assistant Director Traffic, Transport & Parking, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment & Climate Change, to make permanent the ETMOs associated with the e-bike scheme, subject to the satisfactory review of a full 12 months of data from each scheme area, a further review of e-bike parking bay locations, consultation with ward members and implementation of the amendments set out in the Cabinet report.
In Autumn 2024, the Council initiated this review, with officers analysing the data and responses received during the trial period and consulting with ward members. The review was split across the three operating areas and considered the metrics outlined above. Where concerns were raised about individual parking bays, officers conducted a review to assess safety and functional criteria. General comments related to e-bike operations, such as mis-parked bikes, noise complaints, anti-social behaviour, etc. tend not to be site-specific as these may occur in any parking bay. As such, they were not considered reasons to remove/relocate a bay, unless there were site specific considerations.
The e-bike scheme review was completed in February 2025, with Chief Officer Decision reports confirming which parking bays were to be retained, relocated, added, and removed. Boroughwide results are summarized as follows:
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Area 1: Of the 82 existing parking bays, 78 have been retained, 4 will be relocated due to traffic safety/operational reasons, and 1 new bay is proposed. No bays are to be removed.
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Area 2: Of the 82 existing parking bays, 66 have been retained, 11 will be relocated due to traffic safety/operational reasons, 5 bays will be removed due to traffic safety/operational reasons or due to bay rationalization, and 4 new bays are proposed.
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Area 3: Of the 100 existing parking bays, 88 have been retained, 4 will be relocated due to traffic safety/operational reasons8 5 bays will be removed due to traffic safety/operational reasons or due to bay rationalization, and 1 new bay is proposed.
|
Area |
Chief Officer Decision (COD) Report |
COD Appendices |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Appendix A – E-Bike Bay Decision Summary (Area 1) |
|
|
2 |
Appendix A - E-Bike Bay Decision Summary (Area 2) |
|
|
3 |
E-bike Scheme Review (Area 3) - 3 February 2025 |
Appendix A - E-Bike Bay Decision Summary (Area 3) |
Next Steps
Detailed next steps are outlined in the Chief Officer Decision reports above. All new bays and bay relocations will be subject to further consultation and discussion with ward members as part of the next stage of work. This is due to occur between February and March 2025. All confirmed bays will then proceed through the Traffic Management Order process before being implemented.
While the trial has now concluded, the Council continues to welcome feedback on the e-bike scheme. For reporting e-bike issues (including mis-parked bikes), please contact the operator directly at london-ops@li.me. For any urgent or after-hours queries, you can phone 0800 808 5223 or email support@li.me, which is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
General enquiries about the e-bike scheme can be sent to: Traffic@hounslow.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can call 0208 583 3322, or send correspondence via post to:
FAO Traffic Team
London Borough of Hounslow
7 Bath Rd
Hounslow
TW3 3EB
