Public assembly regarding e-bikes in Merton

Sergeant Attwell attended a public assembly at Morden Civic Centre on Saturday 8th November 2025 to discuss concerns regarding electronic bicycle use and the associated issues, such as anti-social behaviour, crime and dangerous riding. All issues are ones that have been raised by the local community.

In recent weeks within Merton Borough we have run operations, alongside colleagues from other departments which has involved the seizure of illegally used electronic bikes. We have also worked with hire companies to identify offenders of serious offences who have used a hire bike during the commission of the offence so that we can bring offenders to justice.

The event was organised by MP Siobhain McDonagh and attended by a number of local residents who raised a number of questions and concerns.

Some of the topics discussed were;
E-bikes having a feature that can ID them - Hire bikes (such as lime) all have a QR code on them, if an image is obtained which has this QR code then the bike and user can be identified. Currently there is no legislation requiring bikes to have some sort of ID feature, such as a number plate as used by cars and motorcycles.

Bikes running red lights and riding on the pavement - The local policing team will be setting up an operation in the near future at sites where it has been noted there are a number of red light runners. If you have any areas of note then please let your local policing team know of this.
Additionally, hire companies have been rolling out safer riding campaigns across their sites and social media and are looking into further use of GPS tracking on their bikes to identify those who may not be adhering to the rules.

Insurance on an e-bike - All hire companies have public liability insurance, if you are injured or have property damaged by an e-bike rider, and they are on a hire bike, you can contact the company and pass them details for an insurance resolution where the claim will be assessed. For private vehicles, if possible obtain details of the rider, including name and address as they would then be responsible for any damage or injury caused.

Positioning of parking bays for hire bikes - This is something that is constantly assessed by the relevant team within Merton Council. If you have particular issues or concerns with a parking bay please contact Merton Council to raise the issue.

The use of hire bikes is continuing to grow, with nearly 500,000 rides in Merton Borough in the last few months and approximately 50,000 users. Partnership work needs to develop and continue to allow the safe use of these schemes so that they do not negatively impact on the community.

If you have particular concerns about your area and anti-social behaviour please contact your local policing team or the council anti-social behaviour team and the information can be reviewed to establish any course of action.

Also in attendance were;
MP – Siobhain McDonagh
Cllr Stuart Neaverson - Cabinet Member for Transport and Cleaner Streets & Donna Chisholm - Merton Public Realm Director
London Fire Brigade – Station Commander James Leach
Lime Bike - Alice Pleasant, Senior Public Affair Manager
Forest Bikes – Will Jansen - COO