Seven Hundred Lime Bikes Delivered to the Area
Mixed reaction as new dockless hire scheme goes live
More electronic hire bikes have been brought in for launch of new scheme
June 4, 2023
The new dockless e-bike hire scheme in the Chiswick area seems to have gone live this weekend ahead of schedule.
Hounslow Council earlier announced that the new arrangement in which electronic bikes must be parked in designated bays would launch on Monday 5 June but users of the service report that the geofencing has been activated already.
Previously, anyone hiring the bikes through an app would just be encouraged to park them responsibly, but the new system means that the machines must be left in one of 56 designated e-bike bays across Chiswick. E-scooters are not part of the scheme.
The council says it has signed an exclusive deal with Lime, a San Francisco based company, to operate the hike scheme within the borough and that a fleet of 700 e-bikes has been delivered to the area. A condition of the new trial scheme is that the additional parking restrictions have been introduced. Lime users in the part of Chiswick in Ealing borough will still be able to leave bikes outside designated bays.
It costs £1 to unlock a bike and after that it is 23p a minute with deals available for regular users.
There has been a mixed response to the scheme with a number of people already contacting us to raise concerns.
One user said, “We were meeting friends at a pub and told them the best way to get here would be to hire a Lime after they got off the tube. However, the app told them that the nearest bay to leave the bike was over half a mile away from where we had arrange to meet. We had noticed that there was a designated bay nearer beforehand, so I don’t know what the problem was for sure. Perhaps it just hadn’t been fully converted yet but, more worryingly, it may have already been full which suggests a flaw in the scheme. If bays fill up in popular spots then using the bikes will become unviable.”
Another said, "Introducing restrictions on how the service can be used isn't going to make more people use it. This is about the council generating revenue and not encouraging active transport."
The council says the scheme is part of its transport strategy aims to promote better health, manage congestion, and improve air quality. It will also be paid a fee by Lime for the licence to operate the scheme which has initially been introduced just in Chiswick and Brentford but which it says will be expanded across the borough by the end of the summer with ultimately 300 bays being converted many of which will be in existing parking spaces.
The new arrangements follow complaints about carelessly discarded bikes across London including from groups representing the disabled.
The council says, “The use of e-bikes has greatly increased in recent years, but a more formalised scheme is needed to help minimise instances of bikes being left in an obstructive manner. Once the scheme is in place, e-bikes will only be permitted to be parked in the e-bike bays. The bays will predominantly be located in existing carriageway parking bays with a smaller number of footway bays provided where it is suitable to do so. This scheme is intended to ensure the council has greater control over where bikes are parked and therefore reduce the impact on other highways users. The trial will run for six months from completion of the scheme, with a potential six month extension if necessary.”
Prior to the introduction of the scheme, some residents expressed scepticism that the new arrangements would tackle the problem of badly parked Lime bikes. It has been possible to ‘hack’ the bikes and ride them without paying on the app although the rider would not receive any electric power. Anyone riding the bikes this way can be identified by a distinctive clicking sound and it is claimed that this kind of rider is the one mainly responsible for obstructive parking of the bikes. Lime says it has beefed up security and it is now much more difficult to use the bikes without paying.
The scheme is scheduled to expand to the Isleworth, Hounslow and Osterley areas in July 2023 with the Bedfont, Cranford, Feltham, Hanworth and Heston areas being covered in August 2023.
| Locations of Designated e-bike Parking Bays in Chiswick | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chiswick Gunnersbury ward | ||
| Street Name | Location | Length of Bay |
| Alwyn Avenue | Adjacent to No. 22 Sutton Court Road | 8 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Cambridge Road North | Adjacent to No. 455 Chiswick High Road | 7.5 metres (4 metres of motorcycle bay & 3.5 metres of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Chiswick Common Road (1) | West of the junction with Fishers Lane, adjacent to play area | 7 metres (of pay to park bay) |
| Chiswick Common Road (2) | Opposite No. 37 Windmill Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Chiswick High Road | Footway east of the access to Gunnersbury Tube Station | 7 metres (of footway) |
| Dolman Road | Footway opposite the junction with Kirton Close | 9.5 metres (of footway) |
| Dukes Avenue | Outside No. 2 Dukes Avenue | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Glebe Street | Adjacent to No. 19 Devonshire Road | 7 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Grosvenor Road | Outside No. 24 Grosvenor Road, west of the junction with Harvard Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Harvard Road | South of the junction with Wellesley Road, adjacent to Belgrave Lodge | 9.5 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Heathfield Gardens | Opposite No. 50 Heathfield Gardens | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Heathfield Terrace | Heathfield Terrace service road, east of the junction with Horticultural Place | 9.5 metres (6 metres of pay to park bay & 3.5 metres of single yellow line) |
| Marlborough Road | Adjacent to No. 367 Chiswick High Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Popes Lane | Footway at the junction with Gunnersbury Avenue (A406) | 6 metres (of footway) |
| Power Road | Adjacent to No. 250 Gunnersbury Avenue (opposite Volvo showroom) | 7 metres (5 metres of permit / pay to park bay & 2 metres of double yellow line) |
| Princes Avenue | Adjacent to No. 59 The Ridgeway | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Reckitt Road | Outside No. 47 Reckitt Road | 7 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Wavendon Avenue | Adjacent to No. 47 Dukes Avenue | 7.5 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Chiswick Homefields ward | ||
| Balfern Grove | Adjacent to No. 58 Chiswick Lane | 7 metres (4 metres of permit / pay to park bay & 3 metres of double yellow line) |
| Bolton Road | Adjacent to Mulberry House, Cavendish Road | 9.5 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Chiswick Lane | South Opposite the junction with Netheravon Road South | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Coombe Road | Adjacent to No. 90 Devonshire Road | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Corney Road | Opposite No. 46 Corney Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Cranbrook Road | Opposite No. 2 Cranbrook Road | 9.5 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Edensor Gardens | Adjacent to Chiswick Pool | 9.5 metres (of unrestricted carriageway) |
| Gainsborough Road | Adjacent to No. 60 Bath Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Grantham Road | Opposite No. 23 Grantham Road | 7 metres (of unrestricted carriageway) |
| Hartington Road | Outside Nos. 1-7 The Lindens | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Homefield Road | Adjacent to No. 65 Chiswick High Road | 8 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Kinnaird Avenue | Adjacent to No. 54 Hartington Road | 7 metres (of permit parking area) |
| Netheravon Road | Adjacent to No. 29 Chiswick High Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Prebend Gardens | Opposite No. 35 Prebend Gardens | 9 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Priory Avenue | East of the junction with Woodstock Road, adjacent to church | 8 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Pumping Station Road | Opposite No. 24 Pumping Station Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Spencer Road | Opposite No. 4 Spencer Road | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Stamford Brook Avenue | Opposite the junction with Stamford Brook Gardens | 9.5 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Staveley Gardens | Adjacent to No. 4 Staveley Gardens | 7 metres (of unrestricted carriageway) |
| Staveley Road | Outside No. 44 Staveley Road | 9 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Thornton Avenue | Adjacent to No. 90 Turnham Green Terrace | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Chiswick Riverside ward | ||
| Brooks Lane | Adjacent to No. 27 Geraldine Road | 9 metres (of permit parking area) |
| Brooks Road | Opposite No. 15 Brooks Road | 7 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Clarence Road | Adjacent to No. 61 Wellesley Road | 7 metres (3 metres of motorcycle bay & 4 metres of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Ernest Gardens | Adjacent to No. 54 Magnolia Road | 7 metres (of permit parking area) |
| Gordon Road | Opposite Nos. 2 & 4 Gordon Road | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Grove Park Gardens | Opposite No. 3 Grove Park Gardens | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Grove Park Terrace | Opposite Nos. 1-11 Sutton Court Mansions, Grove Park Terrace | 9.5 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Hazledene Road | Adjacent to No. 76 Hazledene Road | 7 metres (of permit parking area) |
| Lawford Road | Adjacent to No. 152 Sutton Court Road | 9.5 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Park Road | Opposite No. 66 Park Road | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Riverview Road | Adjacent to No. 93 Grove Park Road | 7 metres (of permit parking area) |
| Staveley Road | Adjacent to No. 122 Sutton Court Road | 7 metres (of resident permit bay) |
| Stile Hall Gardens | Opposite No. 1 Stile Hall Gardens | 8 metres (of single yellow line) |
| Strand on the Green (1) | Opposite No. 104 Strand on the Green | 7 metres (of permit holders bay) |
Strand on the Green (2) |
Opposite, and to the west of, the junction with Pyrmont Road | 7 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Sutton Court Road | Opposite No. 196 Sutton Court Road | 9.5 metres (of permit / pay to park bay) |
| Sutton Lane South | Opposite No. 26 Sutton Lane South | 7 metres (5 metres of resident permit bay & 2 metres of double yellow line) |
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