Regulation of dockless hire bikes in London

The London Assembly Transport Committee is holding a meeting on 8 October 2026 to investigate the regulation of dockless hire bikes in London.

To consider what powers Transport for London (TfL) should have as part of the new regulatory framework for licensing dockless hire e-bikes in London to help achieve the objectives in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, and what conditions TfL should place on operators as part of this.

• Dockless hire e-bikes are services where bikes can be located, hired and unlocked using an app and do not require a docking station, instead – depending on the agreement operators have with respective councils - they can be parked in geo-fenced zones or anywhere within the operating area. There are currently four dockless hire bike operators in London; Bolt, Forest, Lime, and Voi. TfL estimates that over one in 10 cycle journey stages were made by dockless bike in 2024. It has been reported that there are around 50,000 dockless bikes available for hire in London.
• Dockless hire e-bikes are not currently regulated, meaning that individual operators enter into agreements directly with individual boroughs to operate a scheme in that area. This borough-by-borough approach has led to a patchwork of dockless bike services across London and issues at borough borders where bikes may stop working. In 2025 it was reported that the Mayor described the situation as the “Wild West”.
• Several issues are raised consistently relating to the use of dockless e-bikes in London, including discarded bikes blocking pavements, poorly parked bikes creating accessibility concerns for older and disabled people, injuries caused by careless riding and collisions, and lack of insurance for people hurt in collisions with people riding dockless hire bikes. In particular, disabled people’s organisations have raised concerns about the danger of discarded or poorly parked dockless bikes affecting disabled people. Transport for All has stated “the total lack of regulation of micromobility services such as dockless bikes and e-scooters are putting disabled pedestrians in danger.”
• Issues to be considered as part of the regulation include, but are not limited, to:
  
  o fleet size
  o maintenance standards
  o data sharing of usage
  o provision of bike parking bays
  o fee structures.
• The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 established a statutory framework for local authorities in England, and specifically TfL in London, to regulate and licence dockless micromobility schemes. Secondary legislation and guidance will be needed to develop and implement the regulatory framework. The Department for Transport (DfT) states that initially the regulatory power will be limited to shared bike services but is designed with the flexibility to add other micromobility operations, such as shared e-scooter schemes, in future.
• In May 2026 the Mayor told the Assembly “my ambition is for TfL to use its new powers [under the 2026 Act] to support sustained cycling growth whilst driving up consistent and high standards for rental e-bike schemes across London replacing the existing patchwork and borough-by-borough approach.”

1. Will the new statutory framework for regulating and licencing dockless micromobility schemes set out in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 address known issues with dockless hire bikes in London?
2. What powers should TfL have to regulate dockless bikes in London as part of the new regulatory framework to be set out in secondary legislation?
3. What objectives should TfL seek to achieve through its regulatory and licensing regime of dockless hire bikes?
4. What licensing conditions should TfL consider for dockless bike operators in London and how will this be monitored?
5. How should the Mayor, TfL and London boroughs work together with the operators to protect the public purpose of streets and pavements while ensuring consistent and high standards for dockless bike schemes across the whole of London, so micromobility services can play their part in meeting the targets in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, e.g. that 80 per cent of journeys should be made by walking, cycling and public transport by 2041?