Lime bikes could be banned from Richmond borough as the council is expected to sign an exclusive tender with Forest, meaning Lime bikes will not be able to be hired or parked across the borough, according to The Times.

Forest's bid has been recommended by council officers and will be discussed at a meeting of the borough's transport committee next Monday (16 March).

Lime's bid marginally outscored Forest and Voi's bids on "quality" but lost out on pricing. A quarter of the scoring system is dictated by the size of a "concessionary fee to the council" and the rest of the pricing element is made up by a judgment on user pricing.

"Officers consider the submission from Forest (as sole provider) represents the best overall proposal," the council papers read.

A separate paper, which is exempt from public disclosure, sets out the exact pricing. Councillors could choose to instruct the council to pick an alternative operator or allow more than one operator.

Lime is currently the sole provider of e-bikes in the borough, where the number of trips exceeded 1.5 million in 2025 and without its operation in Richmond, riders using Limes from other parts of London will have to end their journeys before reaching Richmond.

Should the transport committee rubber-stamp the officials' recommendation, the outcome would mirror that of neighbouring Hounslow, which barred Lime bikes last year in favour of Forest and Voi.

After the decision, users were not able to ride the bikes through Hounslow, leading to dozens of Lime bikes being parked at entry points into the borough.

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This led to a drop of 50 per cent in e-bike users in the borough because Lime has "a lot more users in London," it says.

Comedian Dara Ó Briain likened the situation to that of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Richmond's decision to green-light Forest will make life easier for cross-border travel but the papers suggest this "was not decisive in the final analysis".

In Hounslow, Lime again outscored competitors on quality but not on pricing, though the council did say "widespread community feedback" on poor quality parking in the borough had informed its decision.

Writing soon after the Hounslow decision, which garnered national attention, Gareth Roberts, leader of Richmond council, said: "The most innocuous of issues will sometimes cause normally rational and well-balanced individuals to transform into human volcanoes, ready to erupt at any time. One such issue is the relatively new phenomenon of hireable bicycles."

Cllr Roberts acknowledged that the "vast majority" of Lime bike users parked their bikes in the borough with "due consideration" but "the fact remains that given the number of complaints we as councillors receive, clearly not all users follow best practice."

The council's papers do say there are more Lime bikes in the borough than allowed in their current arrangement with the company. While 500 are permitted, "considerably more than twice this number can be observed in the borough."

Should the borough's transport committee sign off on the proposal, it will turn large swathes of southwest London into a Lime-free zone.

Lime bikes are also barred from Kingston and Sutton, though both are tendering to expand provision to two operators. Should this happen, Richmond will be one of the only London borough without two e-bike operators.

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E-bike policies are decided on a borough by borough basis and are in effect unregulated at a city or national level. Transport for London is hoping to bring e-bike regulation into its jurisdiction if the English Devolution Bill passes into law in parliament this year.

City-wide regulation is considered likely to lead to more uniform policies across London, with stricter regulations on parking but more joined up decision-making on operators. However, any uniform regulatory regime is likely to be some years away even if parliament passes the legislation in 2026.

A Forest spokesperson told The Times: "This was a highly competitive and rigorous process, and we're proud that the strength of our bid stood out.

"Expanding into Richmond is another important step in growing Forest's network in the capital and particularly southwest London, connecting riders across Kingston, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Wandsworth. Strengthening these connections makes cycling more accessible and is a positive step for sustainable transport across the city."

Richmond council said: "Rental e-bikes have become a key piece of transport infrastructure in Richmond — with more than 1.5 million journeys taken in the borough last year alone — giving residents a quick, easy, and sustainable travel option.

"Following a fair and competitive procurement process, Council officers have recommended Forest as Richmond's preferred operator from this summer. All bidders demonstrated a strong level of service, but Forest scored highest overall against the council's evaluation criteria — including service quality, e-bike user cost, and value to council taxpayers.

"Any decision to award a contract to a provider will (subject to contract) be carefully managed to minimise disruption, support resident use and reduce the incidence of poor parking behaviours."

A Lime spokesperson told Nub News: "We've served tens of thousands of residents in Richmond weekly since 2021, providing a hugely popular service that connects people to the rest of London. We submitted a strong bid in the hope of continuing to provide this service, which was rated as the highest quality offer by the Council. 

"All other London boroughs are moving to systems with a minimum of two operators to give residents a choice of shared e-bike services in the Capital. We hope Councillors in Richmond choose to follow that model.

"It is important shared e-bike schemes prioritise maintaining access to high quality, popular cycle options in London, rather than reducing them. This should always take precedence over financial commitments from companies, which are often unsustainable. If not, then we risk creating unpopular, dysfunctional schemes that drive down cycling rates and hinder London's net-zero goals."