Lime is the only one of London’s four major dockless e-bike operators not currently sharing live data directly with Transport for London (TfL), a London Assembly committee heard.
TfL says the lack of access to safety data is hampering its ability to make informed decisions about the network.
Under the current system, safety and complaint data is largely held by individual dockless e-bike operators, leaving TfL without a complete picture of incidents across the network.
TfL is now “rapidly” working to establish formal data-sharing arrangements with each e-bike provider as it prepares to take on a greater role in regulating the network.
Voi, Bolt and Forest confirmed they already share live data with TfL.
The committee heard that access to this information could help TfL understand where bikes are operating, how they are being used and where issues such as collisions and parking problems are occurring.
The data could also inform decisions under the new London-wide regulatory framework, including where more parking is needed and how the network should be managed.
Caroline Russell, chair of the Transport Committee, said TfL had long been “pulling their hair out” trying to gain greater control over the fragmented e-bike network.
The current system is split between London’s boroughs, which have separate agreements with individual operators.
Alice Pleasant, Lime’s deputy regional head for UK government relations, said the company was “working towards sharing” its live data with TfL, but could not say when this would happen.
She said Lime’s agreements with London boroughs were at different stages, with newer agreements including live data dashboards while some older agreements did not.
Pleasant described this as part of “the legacy of how the market’s developed” and said the company was “in the process of doing it”.
Lime already shares live data with TfL for its e-scooter operation under a separate, long-standing agreement.
Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, opened the meeting with a blunt assessment of the current system: “We all know this isn’t working.”
Feature image credit: Oxana Melis on Unsplash
Join the discussion