E-bike giants back Khan bid to end London ‘Wild West’
London’s leading e-bike operators have backed Sadiq Khan’s bid to end the capital’s regulatory ‘Wild West’ while piling pressure on the government to get a long-awaited city-wide licensing regime into force. Lime, Forest and Voi welcomed new plans to replace London’s borough-by-borough wars with a single framework overseen by Transport for London (TfL), after years [...]
Major e-bike companies have endorsed Sadiq Khan's proposal to end London's regulatory 'Wild West' and push for a unified city-wide licensing system for shared e-bikes. Lime, Forest, and Voi have welcomed the plans, which aim to replace the current borough-by-borough system with a single framework overseen by Transport for London (TfL).
However, the new system cannot commence until the government issues secondary legislation outlining the licensing regime. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act established the legal foundation in 2026, but further regulations are necessary. Lime's regional head of government relations, Stef Lehmann, said the company supports citywide regulation to provide a consistent approach for riders and boroughs.
Voi's vice president for Northern Europe, Christina Moe Gjerde, emphasized the urgent need for London to have a city-wide set of rules. Mayor Khan stressed that the 'Wild West' approach to dockless e-bikes must stop and called on the Department for Transport to swiftly publish the required secondary legislation to implement the new powers.
London's dockless e-bike market is currently regulated through agreements between individual boroughs and operators, with TfL set to become the licensing authority once the government measures are in place.
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