The problem with Lime bikes isn’t when they’re being cycled, but when they’re not. It’s a profit making company using public infrastructure as private storage/infrastructure. Imagine if Hertz, Enterprise and Sixt decided to make their shareholders more profit by selling off their garages and parking in residential streets. There simply isn’t the capacity, and the same with Lime bikes, so they just swarm the pavements, taking away even more public space. If you were blind or a wheelchair user, navigating the situation in the photo you posted presents a nightmare, forcing pedestrians into the highway. ALBCM but only once Lime have paid for their own parking bays to run their business properly!
Yes I didn't get into the pavement-parking situation in the post, but I 100% agree, it's really outrageous! In London Lime have just announced a £5m investment to build 2,500 new parking spaces -- but only because people kept complaining about them! Local authorities need to be holding their feet close to the fire on this... what we should be doing now is confiscating private car-parking spaces (HUGE waste of space) to build more public and private docking / bike locking spaces in their stead.. a 12-bike hangar takes up the same space as 1 single car parking space
are Lime bikes the Spotify of the roads? Morally and economically unjustifiable – we should electricify the TfL bikes, triple the parking bays for them, and ban the rest. But... ultimately the Lime is so convenient isn't it, with an app that simply *works*. So I use them and love them when I cba taking my own bike out (or need a one-way trip for whatever reason). That said I have stopped using Spotify... and it's really annoying to live without it.
Also re Limes, the pavement parking worries me as someone who's an occasional carer for an less mobile older relative. Even if you're not in a wheelchair, the Lime pile-ups are difficult to navigate and often force you to walk in the road, which is scary if you're slow and elderly.
What we need is more bike support from councils i.e. safe bike storage – it's a huge palaver to apply to your council to have one built on your road, but really every road should have one, it doesn't need debate!
(this is Chal. not sure i've ever seen Tom on a Lime)
Thanks for this - interesting view - I get what you're saying, though still struggle to condone bad bike behaviour - never sure the answer to bad behaviour (cars) is bad behaviour by the other side, though obviously sometimes in protest, that's how it's worked. And good comments too.
In an ideal world, my tweaks would be parking bays with roofs, or something that stops the rain & the pigeon poo. Possibly even lockable ones, so there's less sabotage, except then it would take longer & often (mostly) I'm in a rush. Oh, and to be really silly, I'd love each city to have it's own livery - I find it slightly depressing seeing pictures of cities around the world with the same bikes.
In the longer-term, I still see the ultimate micro-mobility issue is 'things with roofs' or 'enclosure' - hire has improved things, but I think if we want more people to use them in Winter and in the rain, we need to make it more comfortable. Just need a clever designer.
The problem with Lime bikes isn’t when they’re being cycled, but when they’re not. It’s a profit making company using public infrastructure as private storage/infrastructure. Imagine if Hertz, Enterprise and Sixt decided to make their shareholders more profit by selling off their garages and parking in residential streets. There simply isn’t the capacity, and the same with Lime bikes, so they just swarm the pavements, taking away even more public space. If you were blind or a wheelchair user, navigating the situation in the photo you posted presents a nightmare, forcing pedestrians into the highway. ALBCM but only once Lime have paid for their own parking bays to run their business properly!
Yes I didn't get into the pavement-parking situation in the post, but I 100% agree, it's really outrageous! In London Lime have just announced a £5m investment to build 2,500 new parking spaces -- but only because people kept complaining about them! Local authorities need to be holding their feet close to the fire on this... what we should be doing now is confiscating private car-parking spaces (HUGE waste of space) to build more public and private docking / bike locking spaces in their stead.. a 12-bike hangar takes up the same space as 1 single car parking space
I was starting to get quite righteous about Lime Bikes from the comfort of my Bianchi. Then I rode one from Catford to Peckham. Long live the ALBCM!
Haha this is exactly the conversion I've gone through - pan-bicycle solidarity is a must!
are Lime bikes the Spotify of the roads? Morally and economically unjustifiable – we should electricify the TfL bikes, triple the parking bays for them, and ban the rest. But... ultimately the Lime is so convenient isn't it, with an app that simply *works*. So I use them and love them when I cba taking my own bike out (or need a one-way trip for whatever reason). That said I have stopped using Spotify... and it's really annoying to live without it.
Also re Limes, the pavement parking worries me as someone who's an occasional carer for an less mobile older relative. Even if you're not in a wheelchair, the Lime pile-ups are difficult to navigate and often force you to walk in the road, which is scary if you're slow and elderly.
What we need is more bike support from councils i.e. safe bike storage – it's a huge palaver to apply to your council to have one built on your road, but really every road should have one, it doesn't need debate!
(this is Chal. not sure i've ever seen Tom on a Lime)
Thanks for this - interesting view - I get what you're saying, though still struggle to condone bad bike behaviour - never sure the answer to bad behaviour (cars) is bad behaviour by the other side, though obviously sometimes in protest, that's how it's worked. And good comments too.
In an ideal world, my tweaks would be parking bays with roofs, or something that stops the rain & the pigeon poo. Possibly even lockable ones, so there's less sabotage, except then it would take longer & often (mostly) I'm in a rush. Oh, and to be really silly, I'd love each city to have it's own livery - I find it slightly depressing seeing pictures of cities around the world with the same bikes.
In the longer-term, I still see the ultimate micro-mobility issue is 'things with roofs' or 'enclosure' - hire has improved things, but I think if we want more people to use them in Winter and in the rain, we need to make it more comfortable. Just need a clever designer.