Comedian hits out at London's E-bike licensing creating ‘Checkpoint Charlies'

Independent

16 hours ago

Conflicting council decisions on electric bike licensing have created a "Checkpoint Charlie" situation near London bridges, according to comedian Dara O Briain.
The Irish stand-up highlighted the issue of e-bikes "stacking up" at river crossings between the boroughs of Hounslow and Richmond in west London.
Hounslow has granted permission for Forest and Voi's e-bikes to operate within its boundaries, while Richmond has licensed rival company Lime.
This disparity means riders face a "patchwork of boundaries", preventing seamless travel across boroughs. Lime, one of the rental companies, has urged councils to collaborate to resolve the issue.
The latter said it has agreed to a request by Hounslow for its bikes' electric motors to cut out if riders enter the borough.
This causes the bikes to become heavy to ride, resulting in many users ending their trips.
The PA news agency saw about 30 bikes near the southern entrance to Chiswick Bridge on Monday night.
Some were parked appropriately to the side of pavements, but others had been thrown in bushes or tipped over.
O Briain, 53, likened the issue to the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.
In a post on social media platform X, he wrote: 'Hounslow Council have banned Lime bikes, and licensed Forest and Voi; neighbouring Richmond has licensed Lime and banned the others.
'So every bridge is Checkpoint Charlie, with loads of Lime bikes parked on one side and loads of Forest and Voi on the other. Top work everyone!'
Richard Dilks, chief executive of shared transport charity CoMoUK, said: 'This rather bizarre set of circumstances is an unfortunate outcome of the current situation in London, where regulation of bike sharing schemes is decided at borough level.'
He said the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill going through Parliament could make Transport for London the capital's licensing authority for rental e-bikes, enabling a 'more coherent pan-London approach' to be designed.
A spokesperson for Lime said the existing scenario is 'frustrating for riders'.
She said: 'We've already been contacted by many of them who are disappointed at the new rules.
'They should not have to experience London as a patchwork of boundaries.
'We want to see councils work together so that residents can travel seamlessly across boroughs, without having to stop at borders.'
Alex Berwin, head of policy at Forest, said the issue is 'exactly why we have been calling for a pan-London approach to regulation'.
He went on: 'We need a single regulatory framework, one enforcement model and one operational rulebook across the capital, whilst ensuring services support the local needs of each borough.'
A Voi spokesperson said its users are 'free to cycle across borough boundaries, but parking must be in designated bays within participating areas'.
He added: 'We're working with local leaders and TfL towards a London-wide scheme to make cross-borough journeys simpler.'
Rental e-bike companies say they encourage people to switch from cars to a more sustainable form of travel, but there have been long-standing concerns about users blocking pavements with the bikes after they finish their rides.
A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said: 'The issue of neighbouring boroughs having different e-bike operators is not unique to Hounslow. This is an issue at many boundaries wherever there is a change in operator. E-bike service areas are dynamic, with boroughs deciding to review operators at different points.
'We recognise that a borough-by-borough approach can be confusing for users and we continue to work closely with Transport for London and neighbouring boroughs to make the case to the Department for Transport for a pan-London approach. In the meantime, we are bringing in new measures to ensure e-bikes are better managed when left at the end of a journey.'