Lime, Labour’s Hackney councillor and a controversial e-bike tender
Hackney’s Labour transport councillor has denied a partnership between his charity and Lime constitutes a conflict of interest, ahead of a looming decision on whether the electric bike firm’s contract in the borough should continue.
Mete Coban MBE, Hackney’s cabinet member for environment and transport and a close ally of Sadiq Khan, is facing backlash over his charity My Life My Say’s formal partnership with Lime, which won a £2m contract to run e-bikes in Hackney in early 2022.
“This is disappointing from Councillor Coban who should be aware that elected officials need to be seen to be beyond reproach in their dealings with contractors,” Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, joint head of Hackney Greens, told CityAM
Micromobility companies compete fiercely for contracts in London’s many local authorities and a re-run of the Hackney tender is on the cards given Lime’s current contract is set to expire in July.
Founded in 2017, the US start-up’s London operation has grown far faster than its closest competitors Forest, Tier and Dott (the latter two have recently left the UK capital).
The operator’s growth has been such that the Lime fleet has surpassed Santander’s 12,000 Boris bikes and drawn criticism for cluttering pavements.
‘The process stank’
Hackney is one of the most hotly contested local authorities among e-bike companies due to its cycling infrastructure, demographic and size.
But Lime’s prior tender victory left a sour taste in the mouth of some involved.
“The process stank,” said one senior figure with close knowledge of the matter. “There was a strong sense the rules were not being followed and the winner was predestined regardless of the content of the bids. Some of the operators considered legal action.”
Correspondence seen by CityAM shows that at least one of the three rival e-bike operators raised legal concerns over the tender’s outcome.
Industry insiders flagged the council’s decision to disqualify bidders who had not operated at least 200 bikes for over a 12 month period in the prior three years, effectively leaving only two eligible competitors.
Hackney picked Lime as the sole operator from the final two firms instead of awarding the contract to more than one, as is the case in many other boroughs. It justified the single concession by arguing there was a wide difference in scoring between the final two companies.
Documents shared with CityAM show at least one of the two officials working in procurement who conducted the scoring questioned more than once whether it was too harsh against Lime’s closest competitor. No adjustments were ultimately made.
One reason the council cited for Lime’s victory was that it would introduce technology enabling manual age verification on its platform, but no such process exists.
Instead, all riders are required to agree to a general user agreement that specifies a minimum age of 18 when signing up via the app.
Lime and My Life My Say
Councillor Coban is the founder and current chief executive of My Life My Say, a charity that works to increase youth participation in elections. In April, Lime entered into a formal partnership with Coban’s charity.
During recent local and mayoral elections, it has offered thousands of free minutes and rides for distribution to My Life My Say’s network of young adults, tapping into London’s youthful Labour electorate as they head to the polls. Around 55 per cent of Hackney’s population are under 35 years old.
The partnership also means My Life My Say’s ‘Give an X’ campaign adverts are stuck on hundreds of Lime bikes across London.
“These revelations raise important questions about the relationship between Lime and Hackney and its transport lead… We’ll be keeping a close eye on the upcoming decision to renew the contract or open up the tender process,” Councillor Binnie-Lubbock told CityAM
He added: “The Greens have been pressing for better regulation and enforcement of Lime bikes, which are often left cluttering up pavements, making them hostile places for wheelchair users or blind and partially sighted people.”
“The Greens have been pressing for better regulation and enforcement of Lime bikes, which are often left cluttering up pavements, making them hostile places for wheelchair users or blind and partially sighted people.”
Councillor Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, joint head of Hackney Greens
In his role as My Life My Say chief executive, Coban has received some expenses for travel and accommodation, according to the Charity Commission, but his salary is not disclosed.
He faced criticism in December for racking up 40,000 air miles since taking up a climate change role on the council, many of which were on behalf of his charity.
Shortly before Hackney unveiled its deal with Lime, London Councils, a cross-party organisation representing local boroughs and Canada, attempted to create legislation granting all local authorities the ability to fine e-bike operators and force them to share data.
The plans fell through because they required unanimous support from every council to pass. Only two, Havering and Hackney, refused.
In a statement, Coban said no “formal partnership” between Lime and My Life My Say existed before April 2024 and that he has no role or influence in the procurement process for e-bike operators, which is decided by separate council officials.
He told CityAM: “There is no conflict of interest and my relationship with Lime was declared with Hackney Council. I informed the Council about my relationship with Lime and they confirmed receipt.”
“Lime’s contract with Hackney Council began in 2022, which was two years before any formal partnership with My Life My Say. I can also confirm that My Life My Say has not received any fees from Lime, so there is no annual payment or expenses.”
In a statement, a Hackney Council spokesperson “wholeheartedly” rejected any suggestion the tender in 2022 was unfair.
“The contract – awarded two years ago – was subject to a fair and transparent competitive tender process… The recommendation from council officers was approved by the Council’s Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee, of which Councillor Coban was not a member.
“As with all public procurements in Hackney, bidders are scored on a combination of factors, such as cost, quality of service provision and sustainability.
“In this case, we included criteria to make sure operators contributed towards the cost of 70 on-street bike parking bays and would take action on riders who parked bikes on pavements.
“The successful bidder scored significantly higher overall than the unsuccessful bidder. The successful bidder’s performance on all parts of the contract – including age verification – is monitored regularly by council officers.”
Responding to CityAM, Lime provided a lengthy statement addressing its partnership with Mete Coban’s charity and the prior tender victory.
The company said it had taken “additional steps” to ensure full transparency before entering into the agreement with My Life My Say (MLMS).
This included Coban formally disclosing the partnership via the Council’s register of interest and “confirming in writing that he is not involved in any procurement or commercial partnership decisions with Hackney in relation to Lime’s previous tender win, current e-bike operations and/or potential contract renewal.”
“The above steps were all taken and Lime has never provided any money to MLMS,” Lime’s spokesperson said.
They added: “Lime had no prior relationship with Mete before or during the tender response process. Lime participated in the tender process in accordance with the requirements set by Hackney Council and applicable procurement regulations.”
Dott and Tier did not respond to a request for comment. A Forest spokesperson said: “We are always looking to expand our service area and will continue to engage with councils across London ahead of any procurement processes.”