Islington Council has introduced its first hire e-bike parking spaces, as it works to make streets greener, healthier, and more accessible for all.

Across London, cycling is on the rise, with the number of journeys rising by 20% since 2019. In 2024, it’s expected that more than three million rides will taken on hire e-bikes in Islington, double the number that were taken last year.

Over the coming years, the council is aiming to establish a borough-wide network of designated hire e-bike parking spaces, to make it easier for people to use this environmentally-friendly, healthy transport, while also ensuring that streets remain welcoming and accessible.

As a first step, a total of 10 parking bays have recently been introduced following consultations with residents living near each bay. It means that users of Lime and Forest – the only hire e-bike companies operating in Islington – will be unable to park anywhere but the bays when they attempt to end their journeys in the surrounding area.

The bays give dockless bike users a safe, convenient place to park their bikes, so that they’re not obstructing roads or pavements. They replace car parking spaces, and each bay offers room to hold up to 10 bikes.

Between now and the summer, the council is aiming to introduce 50 more bays, with a long-term goal to have a total of 250 bays, prioritising stations, shopping centres, and other busy areas.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality, and Transport, said: “Last year, more than a million trips were taken by hire e-bikes in Islington, and they directly support our efforts to create a greener, healthier borough by offering environmentally-friendly transport that helps people get active.

“In a small number of cases, though, we’re seeing bikes being parked in a way that obstructs pavements and roads, which makes it harder for others – particularly elderly and disabled people – to use our streets.

“Introducing bike parking spaces directly supports our efforts to create a more equal borough, ensuring that local people can continue to enjoy travelling via e-bike while keeping pavements and roads accessible.”

As well as working with dockless bike hire companies, the council runs numerous programmes to help local people of all ages to safely enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling. These include:

Offering free cycle training for children and adults.
Running bike maintenance classes, including Dr Bike sessions.
Offering cargo bike hire for residents and local businesses.
Hosting a Try Before You Bike scheme, where local people can pay off the cost of a bike over a period of months, and return the bike at any time after the first month.