Shared ebikes have become a key part of London’s transport network. From Hounslow to Greenwich, it’s rare to step on to the street without seeing one, and they now facilitate millions of journeys every month.
Even rarer still to step onto the street and not have to jump back hastily when one whizzes past you at top speed!
This is good news for London, which gains a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable way to get around – one that eases reliance on private car ownership.
The columnist is, of course, someone who is in the busines of promoting hire bikes, so he would say that, wouldn't he, Reader?
But shared ebikes also draw real criticism. Poorly parked bikes make near-daily headlines, and with good reason.
There's a row of stands for these wretched things outside my office, and when I leave work, it's full, and invariably there's overspill just dumped all over the pavement. Not only does it look hideous, it's a hazard fot the blind.
But the solution doesn’t lie in fewer bikes – it lies in answering the crucial question around parking. Other European cities have shown that, with the right infrastructure and planning, shared ebikes can be woven into existing transport systems. They’ve done it by answering one key question: where should bikes go when they’re not moving?
I think you can guess, can't you, Reader?
Paris offers the clearest case study. The administration of the former mayor, Anne Hidalgo, didn’t just build cycle lanes; it fundamentally reconsidered how public space should be used once the pedalling stops. Her administration converted tens of thousands of on-street car parking spaces into Vélib’ docking stations (Paris’s version of Transport for London’s Santander bike scheme) and dedicated bays for bikes and shared micromobility.
And the car owners? Did they get a say in the stealing of their space, to make men like this money or were they just expected to put up with it?
