Lime, Bolt and Voi electric bikes to be seized under tougher parking and anti-social rules

A major authority has begun stepping up its crackdown on electric bikes as part of a wider drive to tackle anti-social behaviour across central London.

Westminster City Council has confirmed it will seize dockless bikes from operators including Lime, Forest, Voi and Bolt if they are left blocking pavements, dropped kerbs, cycle lanes, bus lanes, doorways or access ramps.

The tougher approach comes after the authority warned that issuing fines alone had failed to solve the problem of the bikes clogging up pavements.

Since November 2025, Westminster has handed out more than 2,500 penalty notices to e-bike operators, but a council spokesperson said the new powers were needed because penalties "have not changed the behaviour" of hire companies.

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Seized bikes will be taken to a storage facility, and operators will have to pay a fee before they can collect them.

The move forms part of a wider enforcement campaign announced by Westminster City Council earlier this year.

In May, the council created a new Cabinet Member for Enforcement role, led by Deputy Leader Councillor Caroline Sargent, to oversee powers covering anti-social behaviour, nuisance rough sleeping, graffiti, licensing and the "careless dumping of e-bikes and e-scooters."

The council said the new position was designed to provide leadership on enforcement issues and work alongside police and criminal justice partners to make Westminster's streets safer.

Councillor Sargent said: "When you talk to Westminster residents, it's clear that anti-social behaviour is their priority. Whatever form it comes in – graffiti, criminal damage or the more obvious blight of blatant drug dealing, it has a corrosive effect on the quality of life.

"As the new cabinet member for enforcement, I will ensure that we use our powers where we can, and support police and criminal justice partners to use their powers to make the difference that residents and business want to see. I will ensure we are joined up across the council to combat these issues."

Councillor Sargent explained the crackdown was about "taking action and showing people that we are making a real difference on the streets."

The latest action has also been welcomed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People, which stated badly parked hire bikes pose a serious risk to people with sight loss.

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Mike Wordingham, the RNIB's head of policy, described the council's action as an "important step".

He said: "Dockless bikes are often left strewn around public places, which is a serious safety threat to people with sight loss.

"Recent RNIB research showed 81 per cent of survey respondents said bikes or e-scooters left on pavements make their journeys harder."

He also called for "sufficient fixed docking stations" to be installed on roads rather than pavements. But the hire companies have insisted they are already taking action to improve parking standards.

Daniel Howell, from Bolt, said: "I think we are the only operator to have mandatory parking bays with a cap on, so you can't park more bikes than you're allowed in it.

"When you do park, you have to take a picture, and AI verifies it is parked correctly. And if you break that, you get fined by us, and if you keep doing it, you get banned by us."

Meanwhile, Voi said it requires riders to submit a photo showing they have parked correctly and operates warnings, fines and account bans for repeat offenders.

Lime explained poor parking was "largely due to e-bike parking availability", adding: "We're focused on working with the City of Westminster to build more bays together to reduce irresponsibly parked bikes."

Forest also backed the crackdown, stating that by creating more places for people to end their journeys safely and conveniently, "we can help keep pavements clear."

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