New powers to curb the “scourge” of dumped e-bikes welcomed by Westminster City Council

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New powers to regulate the e-bike trade across London – bringing an end to the “scourge” of bikes strewn across pavements - have been welcomed by Westminster City Council.

The move has been set out in a White Paper on devolution just published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. It paves the way for organisations like TfL to impose a London-wide system of regulation.

The White Paper states: “Local Transport Authorities will be empowered to regulate on-street micromobility schemes (like hire bikes), so local areas can shape these schemes around their needs, connect people to public transport, and tackle the scourge of badly parked cycles and e-cycles.”

As a major centre of e-bike use, Westminster City Council has consistently called for regulation of the industry and agreed local arrangements with e-bike providers over parking and tidying up stray machines.

Council leader Adam Hug said:

“The e-bike and scooter phenomenon exploded over recent years, to the point where Westminster has the most e-bike journeys in the world, with over 2,800 bikes per hour peddling around our streets per hour at peak times.

“While we support active travel, we all know our pavements are at points a dumping ground for abandoned bikes, which can make getting around the City a problem for the visually impaired, wheelchair users and others with special needs.

“Westminster City Council has championed the cause of e-bike regulation and lobbied the Government to act after the failure of the previous transport bill to deliver. That void left us with a patchwork quilt of different schemes across the capital, and e-bikes don’t navigate by local authority boundaries.

“It took ten years to win the argument to devolve the power to regulate pedicabs, so I am glad this White Paper paves the way for Mayors and transport authorities to get the powers they need to implement a sensible scheme for e-bikes rather sooner.”

There are currently around 630,000 bike trips around Westminster made every month and the City Council has installed 360 parking bays to cope with burgeoning demand.

The White Paper can be read here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-devolution-white-paper-power-and-partnership-foundations-for-growth/english-devolution-white-paper with the key detail on mobility under section 3.3.