Ealing Council has voted to give itself new powers to seize dockless e-bikes that block pavements or endanger pedestrians — without needing a court order first.
At a full council meeting on 13 October, councillors approved delegating additional statutory powers to senior officers, strengthening the borough’s enforcement against badly parked hire bikes. The move makes Ealing one of the toughest London boroughs on dockless e-bike operators.
What the new powers mean
Under section 149(2) of the Highways Act, the council can now order the immediate removal of bikes that present a danger requiring removal without delay. Other nuisance cases will still require notice and, if necessary, a court order — but the threshold for action is now significantly lower.
Crucially, e-bike rental companies will have to reimburse the council for the cost of recovering and storing seized bikes. Confiscated e-bikes will be transported to a secure council-owned garage on a housing estate.
The council has also negotiated an updated memorandum of understanding with operators, cutting the time they have to clear a reported obstructive bike from four hours to two. There are currently around 1,800 dockless e-bikes in Ealing, operated by Forest and Lime under council agreements.
The Voi dispute
The tougher stance comes amid an ongoing row with operator Voi, which continues to run bikes in the borough despite not being awarded a contract following Ealing’s dockless e-bike trial earlier this year. The council has formally asked Voi to cease operations and withdraw — a request the company has refused.
Voi argues there is no statutory licensing regime requiring a council’s permission to operate dockless bikes on the public highway, and has criticised the council’s procurement process. The council says its agreements with Lime and Forest are in line with the approach taken by most London boroughs.
Councillor Dominic Moffitt, who negotiated the updated operator agreement, said the council had to act to protect pedestrians from what he described as obstructive incursions by an operator without an agreement in place.
London-wide context
Ealing’s move reflects growing frustration across the capital with dockless hire bikes left blocking pavements, dropped in roads or piled at junctions. Westminster City Council has issued more than 5,000 fixed-penalty notices to operators since April and impounded over 1,000 bikes, collecting upwards of £300,000 in fines and seizure fees.
Unlike Westminster’s fine-led approach, Ealing has also committed to creating more dedicated physical e-bike parking bays rather than relying solely on virtual in-app zones — a carrot to go with the new stick.
A London-wide licensing scheme for hire bikes, which would give boroughs consistent powers, remains delayed pending a Department for Transport consultation. Until then, councils like Ealing are going it alone — and operators who ignore the rules face losing their bikes.
The decision is likely to be watched closely by other boroughs grappling with the same problem. Dockless e-bikes have transformed how many Londoners make short journeys, but the clutter of badly parked bikes has become one of the capital’s most visible street-level annoyances — particularly for wheelchair users, parents with pushchairs and visually impaired pedestrians who find pavements blocked.
Whether seizure powers succeed where fines have only partly worked remains to be seen. But Ealing’s message to operators is unambiguous: clear your bikes within two hours, or the council will clear them for you — and send you the bill.
For residents tired of navigating pavements strewn with toppled e-bikes, the new powers cannot come soon enough. The test now is enforcement: turning a council vote into visibly clearer streets.
Read more about London transport news and the latest crime figures for the capital.
