In 2023, Westminster City Council reallocated kerb-side space used for car parking to create hundreds of e-bike parking bays. After an 18-month trial, the move has been deemed a success. The council now plans to make 177 bays permanent and will also consult on expanding the network.

E-bike and e-scooter share schemes have proven hugely popular in Westminster to the extent that in October – the most recent month for which figures are available – council documents show there were 664,000 hires.

Parking has however often been a problem and in 2022, the council began seizing e-bikes from London’s various dockless share schemes which it said were being “dumped across the city.” 

Explaining the move, Westminster’s cabinet member for city management, Paul Dimoldenberg, said: “Trying to walk down some of our streets has become like attempting an obstacle course and we are fed up finding these bikes dumped across the city.”

The largest operator, Lime, has frequently called for more parking spaces to be made available for share bikes and in May 2023, the council responded by reallocating car parking and increasing capacity at existing e-scooter bays so that they too could accommodate e-bikes.

The goal was to ensure there was always at least one dockless parking bay within a 300-metre radius, with additional bays in higher demand areas.

Conclusion

A council report published earlier this week concludes: “The provision of dockless e-scooter / cycle hire bays and associated changes to other on-street parking / kerbside facilities in certain locations will improve on-street dockless vehicle parking management and reduce the risk of the unauthorised dockless bikes being left on the city’s footways or beyond the confines of the designated parking bays.

“It is considered that improved accessibility to dockless e-scooter and cycle hire schemes has encouraged a shift from motor vehicles to cleaner journeys, improving air quality and increased active travel, thereby improving public health.”

The Cabinet Member for Streets is due to take a formal decision on the report on February 28.

Councillor Max Sullivan, Cabinet Member for Streets, commented: “Cycling is a great way to get around the city and, as a council, we want to make it as easy as possible to hop on a bike — but too often shared e-bikes in Westminster cause obstruction on our pavements.

“That’s why I'm glad to confirm that our network of e-bike parking bays will continue to be a feature of Westminster streets, and part of lessening the impact on pedestrians of the over 600,000 journeys by shared e-bike per month in our borough.

“This combined with fines from bike companies for irresponsible parking and the Council's powers to seize abandoned bikes will help ensure Westminster’s streets remain clear and accessible for everyone.”