It’s difficult to turn a corner in London without the bright green basket of a Lime Bike catching your eye. Be it left neatly on the side of a residential street’s pavement, or left strewn across the entrance of Southfields station, these pay-as-you-go e-bikes can be found just about anywhere. Given the current climate crisis, offering carbon-free travel options is vital for sustainable living. With the cost of living rising, it is important to have accessible, and cost-effective ways for people to get to school and work. Yet for many wheelchair users and people with mobility issues, these bikes being left carelessly in the middle of pavements has made getting about in their local area difficult.
First launched in the UK in 2018, Lime Bikes are available in more than 200 cities in nearly 30 countries on five continents, their aim being to “build a future where transportation is shared, affordable and carbon-free”, as stated on their website. At the time of writing, the Lime Bike apps tells me that there are 9 bikes available within a 3-minute walk from my house - these widely accessible and apparently cheap to use bikes seem like the perfect way to keep people active and able to commute in London. However, costing £1 to undock and then 21p per minute, makes them arguably quite expensive compared to a £1.65 bus fare.
To get a better understanding of the local community’s opinion on Lime Bikes in the area, I talked to Malcom Grimston, a councilor Wandsworth Borough Council. When asked if he had received any complaints about the bikes, he replied, “Yes, it is a growing issue with a real increase in the number of complaints over the last 2-3 months.” I then asked him if, from the standpoint of the council, the bikes were benefiting the local area, or rather becoming a nuisance, to which he responded, “Both. Using bicycles rather than cars is clearly good for local air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion, as well as contributing to health and fitness. However, the growing problem of the cycles being left carelessly blocking pavements, particularly a problem saw for people with mobility problems or in wheelchairs, has to be sorted out or people will turn against them.” Finally, I asked Mr. Grimston what action was being taken by the council to act on these complaints, to which he shared, “I have raised it with the @Cabinet Member’ (the Councilor with responsibility) for transport and am waiting for her response; I don’t know how widely it has been discussed. I suspect it is something that will need national legislation though.”
Modes of transport such as the Lime bikes are essential if we want to lessen our carbon footprint. But this needs to be done in a way that can be supported by all in order to make it a long-term solution. If as citizens we hold ourselves accountable for using public services in a responsible way, then these solutions will be altogether more effective.
