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Lime pledges £20 million for London

Lime launches £20 million “Action Plan” to help fix dockless and cycling issues in London

Dockless cycle hire operator and London Cycling Campaign partner Lime has committed a £20 million investment in London to help play its part in boosting cycling across the capital and fixing emerging issues with dockless hire.

The five-point plan and funding committed is:

  • £5 million ‘parking infrastructure fund’ to create 2500 or more dedicated dockless hire bays, with 1500 of them arriving within the next 6 months. (Lime already funded nearly 750 bays using £1 million last year.)
  • £13.4 million in Lime ‘operations’ – mainly taking the on-street team of Lime employees (who redistribute bikes and respond to alerts of poorly parked ones) to over 400 people, increasing the team size by over 60% and now using 15 cargo bikes to redistribute bikes in ‘hotspots’. Overall they will move 4000 bikes daily.
  • AI end-of-trip photo review to stop Lime users parking inconsiderately or dangerously in real time. This will include not allowing users to ‘park’ the bike and end their trip if the AI indicates the parking isn’t appropriate.
  • £250,000 safe riding campaign – Lime will aim to work with City Hall, Transport for London, London Councils and others to deliver a campaign focusing on “rider education” to reduce red-light running, cycling on pavements etc.
  • £250,000 more for the Share The Joy fund, administered with London Cycling Campaign, to help under-represented Londoners cycle. The fund has already distributed £45,000 in 2024 to community and grassroots organisations including London Bike Kitchen, Cycle Sisters and Wheels For Wellbeing. The next round opens in February and groups interested in applying can find out more in a free online Q&A session on Wednesday 12 February.
£5m

Parking infrastructure fund for new dockless hire bays, in collaboration with borough councils

£13.4m

Lime ‘operations’ and on-street parking team, to move bikes and correct parking in real time

£250,000

Further support for Share the Joy fund with London Cycling Campaign, to help under-represented Londoners cycle

Fixing London cycling

Lime and other dockless operators’ arrival in London has clearly, demonstrably and dramatically changed the face of cycling in the capital, largely for the better. Lime survey data suggests 49% of Londoners aged 18-34 hire a rental e-bike weekly or more, and total Lime e-bike journeys taken in London increased by 85% annually last year. Over 16million Lime journeys were taken by Londoners during commuting hours in 2024, and 4million people have ridden a Lime bike or scooter in London since it launched in 2018.

In other words, Lime and other dockless hire operators are dramatically increasingly cycle rates in London and opening up cycling to new audiences – particularly young people. But with that have come some unwanted side effects – most notably the piles of dockless bikes visible in places where there is a lack of appropriate provision and the mechanisms needed to curb such inconsiderate parking.

Lime says this new announcement is the company’s “biggest investment in parking improvements and safety in a city globally to date”. It lays down a gauntlet to London’s councils and Transport for London.

But it remains to be seen whether they pick it up quickly enough. Most dockless parking bays have to come from one obvious place: repurposing car parking bays. Such bays clearly don’t generally belong on pavements.

So let’s see how many boroughs leap at the opportunity to fund a shift away from private motor vehicle provision to shared active provision – and roll out dockless bays fast.

And let’s see which boroughs, once again, don’t have the political will to face down drivers in order to deliver uncluttered pavements and a great active travel opportunity.

“Lime bikes are changing the face of cycling in London, bringing joy to a huge and diverse audience new to cycling in London. But with that comes great responsibility, and London Cycling Campaign is pleased to see Lime taking the lead in improving its operations and ensuring this increase in people’s mobility is a win-win for all Londoners. With this new investment, Lime are helping ensure new riders cycle and park more responsibly. We now need all councils and Transport for London to get behind this revolution in mobility and ensure more Londoners have the chance to enjoy the benefits.

“The increased investment in the Share the Joy fund will also give a massive boost to those working in London’s diverse communities to ensure more people experience the freedom and life-transforming power of cycling.”

Tom Fyans, Chief Executive, London Cycling Campaign

“Since we launched in 2018, London has embraced Lime’s e-bikes. While demand has surged, infrastructure and our ability to ensure riders always have somewhere to park safely and considerately has not kept pace, leading to parking challenges across our industry. The feedback we’ve received from London residents, community groups and elected officials is why we’re launching our London Action Plan. We recognise the need for meaningful investments to accelerate change and improve parking, starting with more funding for dedicated e-bike parking, and additional operational capacity and processes. This £20m plan brings together crucial changes across our business that will help improve our service so that all Londoners can get around the city easily, and safely.

“We’re not stopping here. We’re still working on more solutions to enhance our operations in London, and we’re excited to update our London Action Plan throughout the year with additional improvements we’re making. London is a world-leading city with ambitious active travel and climate targets, and we will continue to collaborate with London boroughs, Transport for London and the Mayor of London to make it not only more sustainable, but more accessible and inclusive too.”

Wayne Ting, Chief Executive, Lime

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People cycling in motion on cycle lane (cycle superhighway)