To think the providers of ebikes in cities (hello Lime and Voi)

Bit of an overreaction…

My town is largely pedestrianised but the e-bikes are everywhere. They are popular with delivery riders, who cycle in the pedestrianised areas to get to the fast food outlets. You rarely see police around so they get away with it.

Our local secondary school put out a message telling parents to stop letting their kids ride Lime bikes to school, as they are too young. But I see these kids cycle past on their way to school every day. They drop them near their houses afterwards so they are available next day.

And those cars that can go over 100 mph. Too much power

Great idea for cars too

I think riding on the pavement should be looked on as humiliating & childish, and greeted with comments like ‘Awwww, does your mummy not let you ride on the road yet?’ backed up by pavement cyclists being penalised.

But all that would have to come alongside proper infrastructure for cyclists so they do have a genuine safe alternative.

You may as well say cars are death machines, because they’re extremely dangerous if something goes wrong.
I'm not a fan of Limes as they are left everywhere although i have to say my adult DD has used them a few times in London which im not mega keen on, usually in the evening when it’s quieter esp as it’s without the helmet.

I don't even mind people riding on pavements on normal bikes in general. But I wish they'd have bloody bells on and sound them. You cannot hear them coming at all and the amount of times I've not known it's coming at all and been completely surprised when it's rushed past me so close or almost crashed into me. I can well see how they clash into people.

I can mostly hear the bells though

And ebikes feel even worse.

Rental bikes and scooters are pretty dangerous if you are a pedestrian in a city. They are often on the pavement and often ridden without care.

I would prefer they were banned. If not each ride should come with a part of the fee going to a compulsory insurance policy, as well as the user having to abide by rules such as not riding on the pavement.

What I don’t understand is how if I’m on my personal e-bike, the Limes can go SO much faster. They get fast almost instantly, they overtake me no matter how hard I pedal in top speed. They literally swan past me with barely a push on the pedals.
Surely that’s too much power?

The blame lies with the individual cyclist (or their parents if underage), not the provider of the bike.

What makes you think it’s the providers responsibility OP?

Maybe there should be a complaints section on their websites where the public can record all their anecdata and others can read it. It should be accessible by all and reporting should be encouraged.

I regularly see kids riding two to a scooter the wrong way down a road. No helmets. A man yesterday nearly got hit by one at the crossroads - I thought there was going to be a fight over it. I see them being used for drug dealing in town. All anecdata ofc but where can these incidents be recorded and collated? Who is monitoring these e scooters? If the public could share their personal data we could find out if they should be removed from the streets.

For anyone visually impaired or pushing a pram or in a wheelchair they must struggle to get around the ones dumped on their sides on the pavement. Not very inclusive.

There should be huge penalties for riders not abiding by the rules, including parents of 10 year old children, causing life altering injuries to pedestrians.

It's a really bad crash watching that

Surely the person riding the bike is at fault?

Of course! 10 or 12 year old kid I seem to remember from that article...
jumped onto the pavement not looking around him. That poor woman.

I see it all the time where I am. Far too young kids riding far too fast dangerous bikes, sometimes 2 of them on the bike, don't even know the highway code.

Fucking scary.

Many end up in hospital with such awful injuries that a local one has had a report about it by the surgeons in the local newspaper. (I'm in Europe).

I wonder where these parents are in relation to these tweens/young teens are o.k. about them having a bike like that.... the mind boggles.

Completely unreasonable. The bike that hit that poor lady was being ridden by a 10yo boy. Blame his idiot parents. He couldn't have unlocked it himself as you need the app with a credit card!

Is it out of the realms of possibility that a user has to be registered / licensed and if they are detected riding too fast / jumping lights / mowing down pedestrians they are no longer able to obtain and operate the bike? I’m sure modern technology / gps / black box / rfid type cards would allow for that kind of system. A bit like a driving licence and you can’t physically unlock a bike if you are operating it unsafely

That's good to hear. I haven't heard of that happening here unfortunately.

Transport for London has an e scooter trial going in some London local authorities. It has been running since 2021 so some trial! There is a load of them near me. I never see anyone using them. Of course we have e bikes everywhere, mostly dumped randomly on pavements.

You are being a bit extreme, but there are real issues. The providers should be legally required to have large numbers on the bikes, have speed restrictors and stronger fines/bans for rule breaking. Councils should have powers to remove abandoned rental e-bikes and issue penalties for obstruction.
Overall they're more negative than positive. It's a shame, but they're a pain.

There needs to be a policy review for private e-bikes too.

These are separate issues to cars, which obviously pose risks to pedestrians too.

@Nodirectionhome according to my friends DS who is a police officer riding E scooters is illegal if ridden anywhere but on private land.On his patch dozens have been seized and destroyed.

We have e bikes and scooters everywhere around here. They come from no where, ride like maniacs, don’t follow the Highway Code, in short they are an absolute menace. But wait, it’s ok because the council provide them.

Ir a dangerous and complete unnecessary scheme.

Mostly they are not driving on the pavement thankfully.

I am severely sight impaired and the pavements are so dangerous for me now that I tend to get the bus most places that I used to regularly walk to.

Great anecdata

In the present, the major cause of harm and death to pedestrians is motor vehicles

A helmet only protects the rider. It is pedestrians who need protection. If helmets were provided few riders would wear them, they wouldn't fit properly and they would be lost/damaged and need replacing very frequently.