Word and photos by Committee member Alan Selwyn
The use of dockless bikes – Limes and Forest in Camden (the red Voi bikes are not contracted in Camden) – is growing: Lime reported a 50% year on year increase in 2025 as reported at January’s Culture and Environment Scrutiny Committee meeting. Along with this increase many feel more bikes are dumped thoughtlessly or pavements and roads. Camden – like other boroughs – is trying to tidy up the dockless bike problem. They are supposed to be placed back in one of the specially marked bays but many are just abandoned anywhere. If they are left in residents’ parking bays or business, disabled or doctors’ bays, Camden can, and say they do, impose a £100 fixed penalty notice on the operator. Camden enforcement teams can also collect bikes and charge the company.
Camden has contracts with Lime and Forest and can invoke a series of penalties for contractual failures. The operators are sending more wardens round to collect bikes – Lime now has 28 in Camden who move up to 1,000 bikes a day. On average 212 designated parking bays in Camden are visited each day with 800 Lime bikes being removed to keep them tidy.
AI and GPS technology is improving to enable the companies to locate misplaced bikes better. Both Lime and Forest have AI end-trip photo reviews to detect badly parked bikes and can trace and fine the user. Forest say they had 95% parking compliance, yet issued just under 30,000 warning to users, imposed 925 fines, suspended 4 users and banned one. Forest say they respond in an average of 47 minutes to a complaint of a misplaced bike.
What else is being done? More dockless cycle bays are being installed. These are paid for by the operators but of course are not popular with everyone: they can create disruption if insensitively sited and they take out residents’ parking spaces – this is, of course, in line with Camden explicit policies to reduce car usage.
So, what can we do about it? Perhaps the easiest way to report ‘misplaced’ bikes is to use the Lovecleanstreets app. on your phone. It will locate the bike on a map and allow you to send a photo: https://lovecleanstreets.info/report (but care with your phone on the street of course!)
Dumping bikes is not the only nuisance and safety concern though. Lime and the other providers fund campaigns and training and in-app messages to reduce illegal riding such as running red lights and are partnering with police to crack down on this. Certainly, more is needed.
