The rental bikes that are dividing London

As the media reports a "surge" in the "dangerous crossings" of migrants, I'm "seeing an invasion of a different sort", said veteran actor Joan Collins in The Spectator: the rental bikes that "litter our pavements".

I've been "almost run over twice" by Lime bikes and I've also tripped over discarded cycles "on the streets of Belgravia". Their riders "seem to care not for road rules, pedestrians, safety, or anyone but themselves".

Take them away

I was hit by a Lime bike and "my knees ate gravel, my side was rammed by a metal basket", my palms only just stopped me from "faceplanting the ground". It "hurt. A lot", said Maddy Mussen in London's The Standard.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Now there are so many of them; "that mass of green scares me", and there have been many "issues". The e-bikes "end up littered on the streets" which is a "real issue for blind and visually impaired people who trip over them", and people "regularly" ride them while drunk.

Lots of riders also wear "AirPods or headphones" so "not only are Limes super-silent, but everyone's walking around with ears full of cotton wool". We're "not ready yet" so until we learn to "use the Limes safely", perhaps they "need to be taken away".

Despite their semi-silent operation, the bikes do cause a noise problem – to the "ire" of many Londoners: the "piercing and persistent" alarm of stolen Lime bikes, which sounds like a "half-bothered fire alarm you accidentally set off", is "everywhere", said Sammy Gecsoyler in The Guardian.

Stop whining

But fans of the rental e-bikes insist that they're a convenient and money-saving mode of transport.

So perhaps we should "stop whining" about them, writes George Hill on Road.cc, because "let's be honest, they're brilliant". I recently took one across London for a journey that would have cost me £20 and 20 minutes in a taxi each way, or 25 minutes by tube, but on a Lime bike, I did it in 12 minutes. It "cost me about three quid" and I arrived without being "sweaty" or "poor".

For many older people they're a "godsend", said Matt Sinha in The i Paper, and their "rapid acceleration gives me a buzz". Wherever you live, thanks to a Lime bike you are "part of the scene" with a "different take on your surroundings".

Also, "touch your mental brakes" on "that thought about poorly parked bikes" because for all the "teens or revellers" who push over a stack of Lime bikes, or people who "create potential obstacles", I can "set an example" by "finding a space" and "stacking one correctly".

So "why not give a Lime bike a spin"? Not only are they "mood enhancers", but they're also affordable, good for the environment and easily available.