Hackney (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hackney Council’s new deal to cap select e-bike fares at £1.75 has drawn a mixed response from residents, highlighting tensions over transport costs and access.
Last week, Hackney Council declared that the cost of renting a dockless e-bike in the borough would drop significantly, with 30-minute rides now costing the same as a single city bus ticket.
Any ride lasting up to 30 minutes will be limited to £1.75 as part of a five-year agreement with e-bike operators Lime and Voi. Lime is fulfilling the deal by offering an unlimited ride membership option for £45 per month.
Only rides that start and finish in the borough will be subject to the cap.
“A phenomenal 2.5 million dockless e-bike trips ended in Hackney this summer”,
Labour councillor for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, Sarah Young said.
“By making e-bike hire the same cost as a bus fare, we are supporting more people to take up cycling, while also introducing tougher measures to ensure bikes are parked responsibly”.
The new program is a part of a larger initiative to increase the accessibility and prevalence of cycling in the city. Both businesses announced plans to release cargo bikes that can carry larger items as well as kid-friendly bikes with seats.
The council has announced that it will increase parking monitoring in response to criticism and enforcement actions over careless e-bike parking throughout the city. This includes installing more than 400 parking bays throughout the borough by 2026 and holding operators responsible for violations of parking laws.
The Hackney agreement comes after previous actions to put pressure on operators regarding pavement clutter. The council suggested in July that operators be charged £80 for each bike that was taken for parking in a dangerous or inconvenient manner.
Not everyone was happy with the result. Forest, the second-largest e-bike firm in London, expressed disappointment at being shut out of one of the city’s most crowded e-bike markets after being left out of Hackney’s new plan.
According to Forest’s head of policy, Alex Berwin, the company is “disappointed not to have been appointed in Hackney” and has offered the council a bid to increase its activities there.
Both Lime and Voi will give the council a portion of the money they make on trips taken in Hackney as part of the agreement.
A number of Hackney residents expressed their disapproval of the recently introduced plan.
Local resident Marina Aisa told ELL:
“This is a short-term measure that hands ownership to private companies instead of investing in long-term, sustainable solutions […] it’s the privatisation of public space as well.”
Aisa said the council should prioritise the implementation of public service bikes, such as TFL’s Santander dock-bikes, over private companies’ profit.
“I know that TfL has the Santander bikes, which are public to some extent, but they don’t cover most of Hackney. That’s the problem. I believe Hackney should spend money on funding a unified London public service.”
Glenn Victor, another Hackney local, sees safety as a major issue and feels the council has not prioritised safety measures regarding the use of e-bikes in the borough.
“Hackney Council […] are actively promoting social media clips of Lime riders not wearing helmets. It feels like cycle safety isn’t particularly paramount to them anymore – which is particularly scary considering the speeds that e-bikes can reach.”
Local Hackney resident of 14 years, Rhys Jordan Taylor, told ELL that he felt positive towards the new deal:
“I think the […] agreement between the borough is a good thing. I’ve always been put off by the price of Lime bikes and now it’s the same price as a bus, I can get exactly to my location […] I think it’s a good their working together in trying to make it more affordable.”
How will the fare cap affect Lime and Voi service availability in Hackney?
Lime will continue to operate under a new contract, and Voi will start service in Hackney for the first time. The fare cap is part of a five-year contract with a stable ongoing supply of e-bikes.
By offering a £1.75 cap on 30-minute rides (the same as a London bus fare) for Voi, and a £45 monthly unlimited pass for Lime (with each ride capped at £1), both operators hope people will ride more e-bikes as the cost provides more users access to a better transport option than other options.
Both Lime and Voi also plan to expand the types of e-bikes they have available for use, such as lighter e-bikes, e-bikes with child seats, and e-cargo bikes, which are designed to widen the appeal of services beyond the standard e-bike.
