London council renews contract with existing providers Lime and Forest on condition of greater penalties, enforcement and monitoring.
Haringey Council in London has agreed a new two-year contract with its current providers of e-bikes, Lime and Forest, following a successful pilot. However, in an effort to ensure the bikes are used properly and safely, the new contract will require greater monitoring of use, with strengthened enforcement and penalties.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante / Unsplash
For the past two years, the council has been engaged with Lime and Forest in a successful trial of e-bikes. There is certainly a demand. More than 4.3m e-bike trips were recorded in Haringey between March 2024 and January 2026, while there were 278,000 e-bike journeys in December 2025 alone.
That, says the council, underlines the growing importance of e-bikes as a sustainable, active mode of travel in the capital, which it is keen to support. But there are, of course, concerns – in Haringey and elsewhere – that e-bikes can be a hazard.
The council says over the course of its pilot feedback from local residents, groups and councillors has informed improvements to the scheme, not least in the expansion of marked and virtual bays which has already led to better compliance with rules. Now, under strengthened rules in the contracts due to start in April, operators will be subject to a stricter timetable for collecting abandoned bikes or those causing an obstruction. Failure to comply will mean fines and the seizure of bikes.
Operators will also be expected to increase patrols in problem areas and to provide real-time data to support closer monitoring of performance. They will pay an annual, upfront fee, contribute to council-run training and deliver a comprehensive safety campaign.
Cllr Ibrahim Ali, Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Environment at Haringey Council, says: ‘E-bikes have transformed the way people get across the borough, providing a cleaner and more accessible way to travel. Throughout the trial, we’ve listened closely to residents, who highlighted both the benefits of e-bikes and the challenges that must be addressed.
‘This new contract strengthens accountability, sets clearer standards and ensures faster action from providers when problems occur. It marks an important step towards creating a fairer, greener and better-connected Haringey.’
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