Council seizes 2,500 e-bikes in parking crackdown

More than 2,500 rental e-bikes deemed to be causing "immediate danger or significant obstruction" have been confiscated by Kensington and Chelsea Council.

The west London council began a crackdown on the unauthorised parking of e-bikes at the start of 2025. It seized 1,315 bikes in 2025 and a further 1,200 so far this year.

Lime accounts for the majority of those confiscated, with 1,624 bikes seized, followed by Forest with 787. Sixty-one Voi e-bikes were taken, along with 44 from Bolt.

The council has charged operators more than £210,000 in seizure, storage and release fees. Councillor Johnny Thalassites said the message was clear: "Park in a bay, or we'll take it away."

The borough was one of the first to introduce designated parking bays for e-bikes in 2023, and now has 245 rental e-bike spaces.

Kensington and Chelsea Council can confiscate bikes if they obstruct the highway, force pedestrians off the pavement on to the road to avoid them, or if they are at risk of falling over.

Even if bikes do not meet these criteria but are parked outside a designated bay, they are reported to the operators, which then have two hours to remove them.

Thalassites added: "Rental e-bikes have an important role to play in helping Londoners get around, but that cannot come at the expense of safe, accessible streets.

"We also need operators to do their bit by clearing obstructions quickly, covering the cost when we have to intervene, and doing more to encourage considerate rider behaviour."

Lime and Forest have been approached for comment.

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