Walthamstow resident Freddie Walker says the council’s banning of dockless bikes in Waltham Forest is wrong-headed
The recent tube strikes have demonstrated how useful dockless bikes can be at providing alternative methods of commute during times of transport shutdown (recorded increases in bike hire usage: 58% increase in Lime and a 500% increase in Forest (Voi and Bolt also saw considerable increases).
Regarding the cycle loan schemes Waltham Forest provides, I truly think they are great, but unfortunately, they don’t provide the level of flexibility and impulsivity needed to meet the needs of many residents, something that dockless bikes do much better.
The council blames Limes for causing pavement ‘clutter’ and I agree that I have witnessed poorly parked bikes in the borough; these were due to people breaking the bike locks, allowing them to discard them wherever.
But I would argue that the lack of regulation, and instead the banning of dockless bikes, contributes to this problem, as people will break the locks to allow them to be used to make journeys in the borough. The issue of breaking locks is however being resolved by Lime (their new bike locks cannot be broken as they used to and Forest has never had this issue).
So the key to actually reducing clutter is by regulating and allowing bikes in the borough.
I believe that a trial, if not for both bike companies, then Forest, due to their better reputation, will prove how dockless bikes will be great for Waltham Forest.
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