Ealing Council has approved new powers to seize e-bikes that pose a danger or nuisance to pedestrians, allowing senior officers to remove bikes without court orders in urgent cases. The decision, made at full council on Tuesday, October 13, also requires e-bike operators to reimburse the council for recovery costs and introduces stricter rules for reporting and removing obstructive bikes.
New powers to seize e-bikes
Councillors voted to delegate statutory powers to senior officers, enabling them to seize e-bikes without a court order. According to a council report, “Immediate removal under section 149(2) is limited to bikes that present a danger requiring removal without delay; other nuisance cases require notice and, if necessary, a court order.” Seized e-bikes will be transported to and stored in a secure council-owned garage on a housing estate.
The move comes as Ealing currently has more than 1,800 dockless e-bikes operating under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with companies Forest and Lime. Voi continues to operate in the borough despite not being chosen, as it is unhappy with the selection process.
Operators face new requirements
According to the Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Cllr Dominic Moffitt, the council formally requested that Voi cease operations and withdraw its fleet from Ealing, but Voi has refused to leave. Alongside the new powers, Cllr Moffitt negotiated an updated MoU with operators, requiring them to clear reported obstructive bikes within two hours rather than four.
Residents are encouraged to report obstructive bikes via the Love Clean Streets app, including the bike’s registration number to facilitate enforcement. To avoid cluttered streets, the council is transitioning away from virtual in-app parking areas toward a network of approximately 300 physically marked bays across the borough. Additionally, in-app geofencing precision has been tightened down to a 10cm accuracy to prevent riders from terminating rides outside of marked bays.
Enforcement challenges and next steps
Lime and Forest will also be forced to fund additional on-street “rangers” dedicated to rearranging mis-parked bikes. This follows a failed enforcement scheme that was supposed to see operators fined for mis-parked bikes. However, the scheme launched in February 2026 led to no Fixed Penalty Notices being issued to operators.
According to Ealing Council, this was mainly due to limited staff capacity and “the reporting requirements in the enforcement policy, ensuring operators are provided with a reasonable timeframe to remove bikes, in line with legislative requirements, and a focus on collaborative working rather than punitive action as a starting point to address obstructive bikes.” The new powers and updated MoU aim to address these issues, with operators now required to reimburse the council for removal costs and fund rangers to keep streets clear.
