Residents of one west London borough have spoken out about what they say is Lime e-bikes being "deliberately" left in "dangerous places", with some locals calling for the trial of the bike hire scheme to be paused immediately, one claiming it is only a matter of time before "somebody gets killed".
Hounslow began its Lime trial at the start of June, with the e-bikes to be left and picked up in "mandatory parking zones", differing to other areas with the bike hire scheme where users can pick up and drop off bikes anywhere.
However, a glance at Hounslow Council's social media posts promoting the scheme will show a level of discontent with the trial from some residents, with pictures and videos of discarded bikes left blocking pavements or on roads often shared in reply.
Lime e-bikes will be available to hire in #Brentford amd #Chiswick from Monday in partnership with #Hounslow Council.
The bikes will be available from on-street parking bays via the Lime app, which can be downloaded from the App store or Google Play.https://t.co/82vkxIqZBRpic.twitter.com/cDoioKklBP
— Hounslow Council (@LBofHounslow) June 1, 2023
Speaking to the BBC, one local has called for the trial to be halted as teenagers are "deliberately" leaving the bikes in "dangerous places", such as in the middle of the road (as seen in doorbell camera footage the resident shared with the broadcaster), or on pavements, leaning against cars, or deliberately blocking driveways.
Sateesh Battas said he feared it was only a matter of time before "somebody gets killed" and recalled seeing "one of them put the bike at the junction, which is as far as way as possible from the bike bay as you can get it, and then the other teenager then put it horizontal so it was completely blocking the road and then they walked off".
"A very large car came around the corner, obviously saw the bike, climbed on to the kerb, you know, to get past it and almost clipping our car just to navigate around the bike. It's terrible," he said.
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"The council told me twice now — and so have Hounslow Traffic and a councillor — that the trial will be until six months from the last designated rollout - so that's February. [The council] is not really doing anything, it just says to wait until February, but if somebody gets killed, whose responsibility is it then? Ultimately, it's the council that allowed this. These bikes just need to go. They're not working."
In reply to Hounslow Council's social media posts about the scheme, one response called the bikes a "blight", another saying it turned the borough into "a Lime bike rubbish dump".
"This trial is a failure," they said. "Hacked bikes are everywhere and left in the middle of the road blocking traffic and endangering people."
Lime uses a system whereby users photograph their bike in an appropriate place when they finish their ride. In December, we reported that one cyclist in the capital had been given a 'parking ticket' for leaving their bike in a car parking bay.
When we contacted Lime they said users need to "park like your gran is watching" and should "never leave your e-bike in a way that obstructs the pavement or could create an access issue for pedestrians, including those with disabilities or access needs".
However, with videos circulating on social media sites such as TikTok, showing how to 'hack' Lime bikes to use them for free, the fellow London council in Westminster has warned of users dumping bikes "with impunity" having not paid for their ride.
In Hounslow, Mr Battas said he had contacted Lime about the issues, with the company apologising for the "inconvenience" and saying it would send his concerns to the "operations team in your area for further review".
"Great take up"
Despite the criticism from some residents, councillor Katherine Dunne, Hounslow Council's cabinet member for climate, environment and transport said they had seen "great take up" with more than 40,000 trips in the first month.
"Our council staff along with Lime have been working hard to raise awareness around parking responsibly in the dedicated parking bays," she said. "This is a trial scheme and we value our residents feedback, which is why council officers are monitoring feedback on the scheme throughout the trial and working closely with Lime to address any concerns."
Cllr Dunne said residents could report " issues regarding abandoned bikes, suspected hacking attempts, noise and other operational issues to Lime".