Electric scooter operator Lime is struggling to enforce parking rules due to significant technological flaws, an investigation has found. In certain areas, riders can leave rented bikes obstructing pavements and entrances without facing penalties, despite company assurances of enforcement.
The company, which operates in cities across the United States including Salford, Nottingham, Oxford, and Milton Keynes, states that in 'dockless' areas, bikes should be parked "neatly to the side of the pavement." Guidance on Lime's website advises riders to be considerate of others and lists five parking rules. Riders are also instructed to upload a photo of their parked bike to the Lime app.
However, an investigation spanning three south London boroughs—Wandsworth, Southwark, and Greenwich—revealed the app's limitations. When a reporter parked a bike in a location that clearly obstructed a footpath or entrance, the Lime app displayed a message stating: "Move vehicle out of footpath: To help everyone get past, move your vehicle away from footpaths, entrances and ramps." Despite this notification, the reporter was able to ignore the message and complete the parking process.
This allowed bikes to be left blocking entrances to venues such as the Greenwich Theatre and the Globe Theatre, and even on the steps of Southwark Cathedral. Bikes were also parked within the porches of multi-million pound homes. While the app was more effective at preventing parking in designated "exclusion zones," such as those around Greenwich's Cutty Sark and Old Royal Naval College, this was not consistently enforced. Bikes were parked in the middle of bustling markets in Borough and Greenwich, areas supposed to be protected by exclusion zones.
Lime has stated that users who fail to park correctly receive a warning, followed by escalating fines up to £20, with repeat offenders facing bans. However, the investigator committed 26 parking contraventions without receiving a single warning.
The company attributes its struggles to GPS technology that is not sufficiently accurate to determine proper parking. In a recent incident, Lime apologized to a blind couple in Bromley, southeast London, after an app glitch resulted in bikes blocking pavements in an area where the company's bikes are not permitted. This forced the couple to cross a busy road with their guide dog.
Earlier this year, Lime announced the rollout of new bikes equipped with improved GPS technology, intended to significantly enhance parking enforcement. Despite these efforts, Erik Matthies, policy lead at the Royal National Institute of Blind People, commented that these measures "clearly still fall short of what is needed." Matthies, who has sight loss, highlighted that badly parked e-bikes "present a danger" to blind and partially sighted individuals.
A Lime spokesman affirmed the company's commitment to proper parking, stating, "Proper parking is important to Lime and we take instances of misparked vehicles seriously." The spokesman added, "This year alone we’ve issued hundreds of thousands of warnings and tens of thousands of fines to riders who parked incorrectly in London."