Haringey peddles two-bike model after Richmond Lime snub
Haringey has handed Forest and Lime a new four-year dockless e-bike contract, doubling down on a two-operator model just as Richmond moves in the opposite direction and edges towards pushing Lime out.
The north London borough’s cabinet this week approved the appointment of two operators for an initial two-year term from 1 April 2026, with the option to extend annually through to March 2030, following a competitive tender process.
The decision formalises a market that had previously run under a trial arrangement and gives the council greater control over pricing and fleet management.
Haringey Council papers say e-bike usage has risen steadily since the pilot began, with e-bikes now an “established mode of transport” in the borough.
Haringey has previously said there are well over 150,000 journeys a month on dockless e-bikes locally.
The contract also gives the council stronger powers than it had under its previous memorandum of understanding with Lime and Forest.
Haringey said formal agreements would allow it to set “clear rules and fees”, and better manage a market that would otherwise continue in a largely unregulated form.
Without that, the borough warned, it would have less leverage over service quality, pricing or poor performance.
A Forest spokesperson told CityAM: “We’re delighted to have been selected as the sole provider by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, as well as one of two operators in the London Borough of Haringey. Both were highly competitive and rigorous processes, and we’re proud that the strength of our bids stood out.”
A Lime spokesperson added: “We support the council’s decision to work with two operators, offering Haringey residents more choice and ultimately getting more people cycling”.
Problems with the wider London models
On Tuesday, Richmond council officers recommended Forest as the borough’s preferred operator from this summer, a move that would effectively force Lime out if councillors back the proposal.
Richmond officers said Forest scored highest overall on the council’s criteria, including service quality, user cost and value to taxpayers, even though Lime is understood to have scored strongly on quality.
So, while Haringey has opted to preserve a competitive model with two operators, Richmond is considering a single-provider structure that could reduce rider choice in one of London’s busiest suburban e-bike markets.
“Almost all London boroughs are moving to systems with a minimum of two operators to give residents a choice of shared e-bike services in the Capital. We hope councillors in Richmond choose to follow that model”, said a Lime spokesperson.
But Forest claims the model “will bring clear benefits for riders in the borough [Richmond], while the continued expansion of Forest’s network will strengthen connectivity across the capital”.
The split highlights a broader tension in borough procurement, where councils either prioritise competition and continuity for users, or place greater weight on financial returns.
Haringey’s own papers make clear why formal contracting has become more attractive.
The borough has spent the past year trying to balance demand growth with complaints over pavement clutter and accessibility.
In April 2025 it announced a major expansion of mandatory parking bays, with at least 100 planned and a longer-term ambition for 300 by the end of 2026, after pressure from residents over poor parking.
It also said operators had more than 20 staff working through the day in the borough to move badly parked bikes.
Haringey’s consultation, which ran through the Commonplace platform between February 2024 and February 2025, asked residents and businesses where they wanted future parking locations.
Cabinet papers say the council also took feedback from disability and adult social care groups into account before making its decision.
The result looks like a more managed local market, but also one that still reflects the patchwork nature of London regulation.
E-bikes are currently governed borough by borough, creating different rules, fleet caps and operator combinations across the capital.
That has already produced awkward seams between boroughs and has fuelled calls for a pan-London framework.
Transport for London is expected to gain powers through the English devolution bill to introduce a city-wide system for regulating e-bikes and e-scooters, though that is still some way off.