The party’s manifesto for May’s election says it will “work with dockless bike providers to introduce a scheme which works for all residents”, reports Marco Marcelline

Waltham Forest Labour has rowed back on its previous opposition to dockless bike schemes in the borough.

The party’s manifesto for May’s election says it will “work with dockless bike providers to introduce a scheme which works for all residents”, a major shift in policy that would bring Waltham Forest in line with many London boroughs if enacted.

Waltham Forest’s only previous dockless scheme – a 2017 trial with Irish firm Urbo – collapsed within ten months.

Council deputy leader Clyde Loakes had previously argued that operators struggled to maintain bikes in outer London and that poorly parked rentals created hazards for disabled residents, and older people. 

Lime welcomed the shift, saying its bikes would be a “natural next step” for a borough already seen as a cycling hub.

Speaking to the Standard, Waltham Forest Tory leader Emma Best, however, called Labour’s move a pre‑election “U‑turn” aimed at preventing voters switching to the Greens.

Meanwhile, Leytonstone resident Carmen Christensen said she was “thrilled” to hear that Labour had ended its opposition to dockless rental bikes.

She said: “I’m shocked but thrilled that they support it now. It would be a really great move if they do enact it here, there’s just so many people who would benefit from the convenience of being able to hop on a Lime bike to get to the shops, to see friends, to get to work.”

Last year, Carmen was moved to create a petition calling on the council to back dockless hire bikes after constantly chatting with her friends about how “frustrating” it was that there were no Limes in the area.

The petition ended up getting the support of over 1,300 residents, a result which Carmen says shows how popular the bikes are.

She told the Echo: “The south of Leytonstone is a bit of a public transport blackspot – it’s quite a long walk to Maryland and Leytonstone High Road Overground, so I rely on Lime bikes to get around, especially if I’m coming back from a friend’s place at night.”

Carmen says she finds Limes to be safer than night buses or even Ubers, but for the most part, she values the “freedom” and “accessibility” of Limes; the dockless bikes can be picked up and left just about anywhere in the boroughs that allow them.

Hal Stevenson, director of policy at Lime, said: “We welcome the news that Waltham Forest is moving forward with plans to launch a shared bike service.

“Waltham Forest is already a real hub for cycling, with significant investment from the council in cycle lanes and infrastructure, so shared e-bikes feel like a natural next step.

“Lime has already established hugely popular services in neighbouring Hackney and Haringey, and know there is strong demand for shared e-bikes across this part of London.

“We would love to bring Lime to the borough and look forward to speaking further with the council about how we could work together to make this a success.”

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