Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Parking Bay Locations
How have the locations been determined?
Data and feedback from TfL, London Councils, operators, and other boroughs has been used to inform the location strategy for the bays. It is important to have a consistent network of bays across the borough, as this gives e-bike users confidence they will be able to find an e-bike nearby and will be able to find space to return it at the end of their trip. In areas of high anticipated demand, the bays are spaced around 250m apart. In areas of lower anticipated demand, the bays are spaced around 500m apart.
Locations have been planned in alignment with these densities, but some adjustments have been required to accommodate nearby trip attractors and site constraints. This has been informed by extensive site survey assessment work which has taken into consideration a range of factors, including the accessibility, visibility and security of locations, and the extent of existing pressures.
What do the bays look like?
All parking bays are fully demarcated on the surface of the highway as ‘CYCLE HIRE ONLY’. Bays are located either on the footway where there is sufficient space and pedestrian clearance, or in parking bays. Most bays host between nine and twelve e-bikes. A bay with capacity for nine e-bikes will be approximately 7m long, which equates to approximately 1.5 car parking spaces.
Where are the e-bike bays located?
The e-bike bay locations for each ward are shown on the map below. When using the Lime app, if you zoom in and click on an available bike, the Lime app will show a map of all available parking bays. To view detailed parking bay location plans, please see the decision reports on the previous page.
Scheme Operations
How old do you have to be to ride an e-bike?
Users must be 18 years and over.
How much does it cost?
See the first section of this website, under How Does It Work?
Are there any areas of the borough where I cannot ride?
Yes, there are some areas of the borough where cycling is not permitted or is not advisable, such as certain parks and gardens. These are noted in red on Lime's app and are called No-Go zones. The bike’s GPS system will detect when a bike is entering these areas and the electric assist function will cut out, making the bike very heavy to pedal. Whilst not impossible to ride the bikes in these areas, this should act as a significant deterrent. For users wishing to access these areas, they should find a nearby bay to end their ride. There will also be some areas where the speed of the e-bike is limited, which are noted in yellow on Lime's app and called Go-Slow zones. The No-Go and Go-Slow zones will be kept under regular review.
How fast can the e-bikes go?
The speed of the electric assist function on rental e-bikes is limited to 15.5mph by national legislation. It should be noted that some operators have fitted speedometers to the e-bikes, some of which are displayed in km per hour (rather than miles per hour).
Some areas of the borough have been set as Go-Slow zones, where the speed of the bikes will be limited to 8 mph. These are generally areas where although cycling is permitted, there are likely to be high volumes of pedestrians and particular caution is needed from e-bike scheme users.
Are e-bikes permitted to use shared or segregated cycle paths?
There are many areas across the borough where space is shared by cyclists and pedestrians, which will generally be signed accordingly and e-bikes are permitted to use. It is important that riders behave considerately where space is shared. Inconsiderate behaviour can reduce the appeal of these places and is particularly intimidating for people with reduced mobility, or who have hearing or vision difficulties. Where riding in shared spaces please:
- Be courteous and patient with pedestrians and other path users
- Slow down in areas where space is limited or pedestrians are present
- Take extra care in places where you cannot see clearly ahead, such as junctions, bends or blind spots
- Use the e-bike’s bell to make people aware of your presence but be aware that some people might not hear or see you if they are hard of hearing or visually impaired.
How will users be prevented from cycling on the pavement?
It is an offence for cyclists to ride on the pavement, unless it has been classified as a cycle route (this may be shared with pedestrians or segregated, and it will normally be signed as such as noted above). The council has sought to locate any footway e-bike bays in close proximity to dropped kerbs, which help users safely access the carriageway to help discourage pavement cycling.
Enforcement against pavement cycling is predominantly a matter for the police. However, if you spot an e-bike user doing so, you can report the time and location of the incident to Lime who will use their GPS tracking system to investigate. This may result in the user being either fined or banned from the scheme. Lime can be contacted here: support@li.me and 0800 808 5223.
How do operators ensure there is a good availability of e-bikes across the borough?
There will be fluctuations in where the fleet is located at any point in time as scheme users hire the bikes and complete their journey. Lime has been keeping a close eye on the distribution of the e-bikes and redistributes them as necessary to ensure there is good availability as well as space to return the bikes in each bay. Minimum and maximum limits on the number of bikes permitted in each area of the borough have been agreed and are regularly reviewed with operators.
How do the bikes get charged?
The e-bike batteries are monitored by the operator. When an e-bike battery is low on charge it is taken out of service by Lime and the battery is swapped for one that is fully charged. These operations are undertaken in e-vans and e-cargo bikes. The batteries are charged by the operator off-site (outside of the borough) within strict safety parameters. Lime battery hardware and handling processes are tried and tested and meet and exceed all industry safety requirements.
Will e-bikes result in more noise?
Compared to the sound of a car engine, e-bikes are relatively quiet. In-app messages will also be used by Lime to encourage riders to behave considerately if using the service during late night/early morning hours. Officers have been monitoring feedback on the scheme throughout the trial and are working closely with Lime to address concerns. Any noise concerns should be sent to Lime. Lime can be contacted here: support@li.me and 0800 808 5223.
I have heard that the e-bikes can be hacked. What is being done to stop this?
In Autumn 2023, Lime implemented a suite of preventative measures which has eliminated hacking of bikes. We understand the concern that was caused by this type of antisocial behaviour/vandalism, and it resulted in the frequent abandonment of bikes outside bays during the first few months of the scheme. A Live-Alert feature sends an alert and GPS reading to the operator if an e-bike is moving in a way it shouldn’t be to provide an indicator that theft could be in progress.
Lime also worked with secondary schools, in partnership with the police, to warn them against anti-social behaviour around the bikes and to remind pupils that vandalism of vehicles is a criminal offence.
If there is a particular location/time when you think vandalism may be taking place, please contact support@li.me or contact the police on 111 as appropriate.
Why don’t we have docked e-bikes (like Santander Cycles)?
Implementing an e-bike scheme with physical docks is not operationally or financially feasible in Hounslow at this time. Docked e-bike share systems are very expensive to install and also require agreement and investment from other boroughs across London to implement. This is because on a practical level, shared e-bike users do not pay attention to borough boundaries – they want to travel to destinations across London, meaning bikes are constantly crossing borough boundaries. As such, bikeshare in Hounslow cannot operate in isolation – it needs to be considered at a regional, London-wide level.
Transport for London funded the initial installation and subsequent expansion of the docked bikeshare scheme in Central London. However, due to high costs, there are currently no plans for Transport for London to fund further expansion into Hounslow. The newer GPS-enabled dockless bikeshare systems – like the one operating in Hounslow – enables schemes to be implemented for far less capital investment than a docked system. Most new e-bike share systems being implemented around the world are dockless.
