A crack down on inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour by shared e-bike users is imminent in the UK, it was announced this week.
Stricter stipulations around e-bike parking and a focus on reducing drink pedalling are all part of a raft of rules the British government has unveiled, as it seeks to address the public’s perceived growing annoyance at anti-social shenanigans by e-bike users. These irritate responsible cyclists and bike commuters every bit as much as motorists and pedestrians – possibly more, since all two-wheeled travellers tend to get tarred with the same blunt brush.
“Whether you’re riding a rental e-bike or your own push bike, you have to observe the highway code in the same way as any other road user would,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander yesterday.
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The new measures could include geo-fenced parking areas, so people using shared e-bikes will only be able to dock (and stop paying for) them if the machine is parked properly in a specific place, rather than chucked on the floor in a cycle lane, for example.
Antisocial and illegal behaviour, including cycling drunk and pedalling on pavements, is also being targeted. The government also wants to stop underage use of the machines (currently, you need to be at least 18 years old to rent an e-bike).
Another idea is to introduce insurance requirements for the owners and operators of shared e-bike schemes, which would mean anyone hit by a a rider on a rented e-bike could potentially claim compensation.
Alexander said a large part of the problem is a lack of regulation around ownership of bike share schemes, and the way they are run. “If you or I wanted to set up an e-bike rental scheme, we don’t have to ask anyone’s permission,” the Transport Secretary explained. “We could just put a thousand bikes out on the road tomorrow, and so we have to end this sort of situation where it’s completely unregulated.”
The government admitted that effective enforcement of the new rules will be dependent on licence conditions imposed by different authorities, but say they’re attempting to bring these into sync with one another.
In London, Alexander is working with the mayor, Sadiq Khan, to invest Transport for London (TfL) with a greater degree of power so the enforcement of e-bike rules can be evenly and consistently implemented across the capital. “The ‘Wild West’ approach to dockless e-bikes cannot continue,” said Kahn.
The bosses of Forest and Lime bikes were both in broad agreement with the government’s approach to the problem. “To see London becoming a cycling city is something to celebrate,” Agustin Guilisasti, founder and chief executive of Forest, told ITV News. “But to achieve this, we need national standards, and a coherent, well-regulated, London-wide system – better for riders and, importantly, better for pedestrians and the city.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the while e-bikes have many positives, they can also be a “real frustration” when left lying on pavements or when used irresponsibly. “I want to sort that by giving communities more control over where they are parked and making sure companies and riders play by the rules,” he said.
“A licensing regime can’t stop the small minority of people who want to commit a criminal act in terms of stealing a bike or using a bike without paying for it,” Alexander told the Press Association. “[But] this new licensing regime means that we can start to bring some order to the chaos that some people see in some parts of big cities where these e-bike schemes, rental schemes have popped up.”
“There are a small minority of people who choose to behave recklessly but sadly, that is true of any type of way that people move around in a town or a city, and you can’t legislate for the idiots, but we can take sensible steps to give local leaders more power over the way in which these types of schemes operate.”
