Cycle hire: how poor parking put a spoke in the wheel of city schemes

theguardian.com:

O n the narrow streets of Soho, the bright, bulky silhouettes of London’s many hire-scheme bikes are visible on every turn – parked freestanding on roadsides, in docking stations, whizzing past slow-moving traffic and (a particular bugbear for many Londoners) lying horizontal across pavements, sometimes in piles.

The proliferating schemes – the biggest of which include Transport for London’s (TfL) Santander Cycles, founded in 2010, and relative newcomers Lime, HumanForest, Dott and Tier – are undoubtedly popular. Usage of hire bikes appear to be at record levels, with the summer months expected to further increase popularity, and easy access to electric bikes have transformed the lives of many.

But as the rival companies battle it out for dominance on the streets of the capital, and in cities around the country, they are also wreaking havoc for local authorities. While TfL’s scheme has designated docking stations where bikes have to be left to end a journey, app-operated e-bikes can be left freestanding wherever the rider’s journey ends – and for some people that means leaving it in the middle of a pavement.

Westminster council, which receives daily complaints about abandoned bikes on pavements, has started seizing cycles that pose an “imminent risk to public safety”.

Last week the councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, a cabinet member for city management, met e-bike operators to look at potential parking bays. “While the majority of users park their bikes responsibly, unfortunately many dockless bikes are simply dumped in the middle of the pavement all over Westminster. This is a safety hazard, particularly for people with disabilities or those who are partially sighted,” he said.

Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling