The Richmond and Twickenham Green Party has opposed the Council's decision to remove Lime e-bikes and replace them with Forest.

The Green Party criticised the move, saying it would switch from "one monopoly provider of e-bikes in the borough to another", rather than allowing two operators.

Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Andrée Frieze, said: "Two e-bike companies provide more choice for residents, resilience against operator failure and better connectivity across the whole of London.

"Simply swapping one monopoly for another does not improve the service overall for Richmond residents.

"Further, I am concerned that the need to prop up Council funding in the face of massive cuts from Government played too great a part in this decision.

"The concession that Forest will pay as a single operator is about 1.7 times more than having two operators.

"For Forest versus Lime as single operators, it is 2.25 times as much."

With the switch to Forest, local residents will be able to cycle e-bikes into all neighbouring boroughs (Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames and Hammersmith & Fulham) which they are currently unable to do.

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However, the local Greens noted that residents could return to a "Checkpoint Charlie" situation if neighbouring Kingston decides to switch to Lime-only e-bikes.

"Until a pan-London agreement is in place for e-bike operators, Londoners will continue to be at the mercy of individual borough decisions over which operator(s) are appointed," said the Green opposition.

READ MORE: Lime bikes set to be banned in Richmond as council backs Forest deal.

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