Increase in Lime Bikes on LL

[first mate]

  On 03/09/2023 at 16:54, heartblock said:

I sent to my Cllr at the time, a couple of months ago, with photos of lime bikes blocking the pavement and a complaint. They are all too busy on their careerist climbing up the greasy pole of politics to care.

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I wonder what came of the strongly worded letter Cllr Williams sent to Lime? We have heard nothing more about that. The problem for the council is they have built so much of their active travel policy to hang on e scooter and e bike hire availability that they probably have zero leverage with the big boy hire supply outfits.

[Rockets]

Looks like the council gave in to the commercial pressures exerted on them by Lime etc and are adding more bays...amazing how quickly things get done when there is money involved...

 

https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/southwark-council-to-replace-over-100-parking-spaces-with-e-bike-and-e-scooter-bays/

[Spartacus]

Thanks Rockets 

Interesting article and great that the council are acting on abandoned hire bikes and scooters by adding parking bays for them, however I am concerned that £200 thousands in parking fines and fees is being redirected towards the scheme. 

Some, possibly most, of the new bays will be within CPZs where business vehicles have to pay higher rates than residents to park, are the hire companies therefore paying to park their hire e vehicles in these bays or is it part of the price they are already paying the council to run the scheme? 

Strikes me as little bit of favouritism towards lime and others where they should be both fined for abandoned e vehicles and also pay the commercial CPZ rate to access the bays.

Schemes lile this should really be funded by the hire companies and not the public purse IMHO.

[alice]

Is there any published data on the demographic of lime bike users?

[malumbu]

I expect it is pretty broad for who I see using them, friends and colleagues.  Here's a New Year challenge for all of those with an issue with them, have a go.  You may even like it and change your opinion. 

[alice]

Was looking for data , not personal experience 

[Rockets]

I think most data points to younger usage and journeys under one mile...and if my experience with my son is anything to go by he gets on a bike to do very short journeys he used to walk...so he is doing less active travel now - which if it is a trend that is seen more broadly complete negates the point and is creating a negative impact on active travel. 

 

I suspect the new bays will do nothing to ensure e-bike parking compliance but is much more about Lime etc flooding more bikes into the area to try and win the battle of the "trials" and force other providers out of the market.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Rockets

[Penguin68]

This is not data but simply personal observation, but it would not surprise me to find that usership is disproportionately male and under 35. I would be very happy to be proved wrong. I should say that I avoid commuter times when I'm out and about to observe, so usage then may be different. As was noted above, the amount that bike usage displaces even more active forms of travel cannot be so directly observed. 

[CPR Dave]

New bays could add to parking pressure though if they are placed strategically.

I suspect many of them will appear in ED in areas where the council want to new CPZs and the residents are resistant.

[malumbu]

As posted before it would be nice to have some more views from Lime Bike users, rather than those who instinctively don't like them.

Rocks do ask your son for views and please share them.

I know people in their 30s who are regular users, valuing the convenience.  One let me have a brief go, found it very heavy but expect you'd get used to them quickly.

[Spartacus]

  On 31/12/2023 at 14:52, malumbu said:

As posted before it would be nice to have some more views from Lime Bike users, rather than those who instinctively don't like them.

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The sound of silence to your question is deafening Mal. 😅

[Penguin68]

If at first you don't succeed, troll, troll and troll again...  eh? 

[malumbu]

It's a forum.  I've asked a reasonable  question.  Rather hypocritical of you to start using the T word.  

[Spartacus]

Mal 

Genuine question, is the lack of response to your request for feedback from Lime users indicative of a general apathy concerning using them? 

Got to admit most users I see are school kids with the tell tale clacking of a jacked bike. 

[snowy]

Not at all. I'm a regular user. See a broad range of lime/boris/forest bike users.
 

My general apathy is towards the anti active travel narrative. Why bother answering when something is convenient- a response will  only get disbelief on here. 

[Rockets]

  On 30/12/2023 at 12:13, alice said:

Was looking for data , not personal experience 

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It seems to be very difficult to get data from the providers on usage patterns for some reason. If you search for usage patterns you get a lot of reports based on the Lime-commissioned Steer research that suggested more parking bays are required (which was part of the lobbying efforts by Lime to get councils to oblige - which Southwark seemingly has now done) but absolutely nothing on the data to back up the need for more spaces. 

 

in fact, that Steer research suggested that in the Lime operating zone 97% of people were within a two minute walk from a bike which actually run counter to the argument that you need more bays - unless people nowadays aren't prepared to walk for two minutes!!!

[jazzer]

Maybe because it's two minutes from where the bike was last left.

[ianr]

What does a hire bike user do if, say, they want to cycle to a store, do some  shopping, and then use the bike to go back home?  Can the bike be clearly restricted to that user while they've parked it?

[alice]

No point just take another bike. 

[6musicdad]

I’m an active user, I also commute regularly on Limes from East Dulwich (25 mins door to door as opposed to 45 minutes if I were to take the train). It’s a game changer for me and I can’t see myself stop using them (even in this weather).

My view is that if we want to go down the bay route - we should have one on every single street and the council should be working with the providers to facilitate this asap. You can fit something like 20 in the space usually taken up by a Dulwich Volvo XC90.

Our streets are littered with cars. I find it baffling how the opponents of e-bikes don’t apply the same cynicism to just how much space cars take up now. 

[jazzer]

 

  On 08/01/2024 at 18:05, melbournemarcus said:

I’m an active user, I also commute regularly on Limes from East Dulwich (25 mins door to door as opposed to 45 minutes if I were to take the train). It’s a game changer for me and I can’t see myself stop using them (even in this weather).

My view is that if we want to go down the bay route - we should have one on every single street and the council should be working with the providers to facilitate this asap. You can fit something like 20 in the space usually taken up by a Dulwich Volvo XC90.

Our streets are littered with cars. I find it baffling how the opponents of e-bikes don’t apply the same cynicism to just how much space cars take up now. 

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Good luck to you, seriously, however when you eventually get older you'll come to realise that whilst it was fun and quicker, the older you become, the less inclined you are to do the things you did 40 + years ago and that includes jumping on an e-cycle. 

And our roads are littered with e cycles, left randomly creating hazards for pedestrians and motorists, so no not great.

[6musicdad]

  On 08/01/2024 at 19:41, jazzer said:

 

Good luck to you, seriously, however when you eventually get older you'll come to realise that whilst it was fun and quicker, the older you become, the less inclined you are to do the things you did 40 + years ago and that includes jumping on an e-cycle. 

And our roads are littered with e cycles, left randomly creating hazards for pedestrians and motorists, so no not great.

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Thank you. E-bikes are a fantastic way for older people to continue to be able to cycle. Just look at their success on the continent to prove this.

I fully appreciate that they can be left inappropriately which causes problems for lots of people in society. This is why we should support dedicated parking bays? They’re not exactly going to go away and we should encourage their use in the design of our built environment.

[jazzer]

Have to disagree, you wouldn't get me on one, way to heavy, would feel unsafe. 

[Sue]

  On 08/01/2024 at 12:32, alice said:

No point just take another bike. 

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Suppose there isn't another bike nearby and now they've got a load of heavy shopping?

[6musicdad]

  On 30/12/2023 at 09:14, Rockets said:

Looks like the council gave in to the commercial pressures exerted on them by Lime etc and are adding more bays...amazing how quickly things get done when there is money involved...

 

https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/southwark-council-to-replace-over-100-parking-spaces-with-e-bike-and-e-scooter-bays/

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Fantastic news - great to see!