Camden approves new quality led dockless hire bike procurement
Camden’s Cabinet has approved a new dockless hire bike procurement strategy. Focusing on quality of service, this will enable quicker and more effective on street management of any issues.
Dockless hire bikes are an important way for many people to travel around and are becoming increasingly popular, which is why we are continuing to encourage their use in Camden.
However, I want to be clear that we will take a no-tolerance approach to e-bikes that are blocking pavements and left stranded in car parking bays. We have already impounded over 2,000 bikes, and we will be ramping up our efforts.
These new contracts will make crystal clear to operators that we want e-bikes in Camden, but we will not allow them to clutter our streets and pavements any longer.
Camden is committed to promoting sustainable travel options but understands how inappropriate parking of dockless hire bikes can block access to footways for residents and businesses and in doing so cause unnecessary and inconvenient street clutter.
To this end the newly agreed procurement strategy places a greater emphasis on service quality to ensure the best possible dockless bike hire operation for our communities, and strengthens the obligations for monitoring, reporting and enforcing services from the companies involved.
Camden currently has contracts with two operators which started in June 2023 and end in June 2027. These new contracts are needed to ensure residents and visitors to Camden have continued access to dockless hire bikes. The duration of the contracts will be five years from June 2027, including a break clause after two years.
Camden continues to robustly enforce a no tolerance approach; our team have been busy enforcing the removal and storage of obstructive bikes as part of their regular inspections as well as issuing Fixed Penalty Notices if appropriate.
The primary aim of this enforcement approach is to encourage operators to take greater responsibility for how their bikes are parked and to respond quickly when bikes are reported as being parked irresponsibly. The new contracts provide an opportunity to strengthen and improve our dockless bike hire operations in the Borough.
- You can read more information regarding the procurement strategy online. This decision is subject to a call-in period.
- To date, the council have created a comprehensive network of 226 dedicated dockless hire bike parking bays, the majority of which are on the carriageway to protect valuable pedestrian space and are continuing to build out that network.
- To date 2,001 bikes have been impounded – using the council’s powers under Section 149 of the Highways Act 1980, which allow the council to remove items causing obstruction on the highway and to recover the costs of removal and storage from operators. Under this process, operators are charged £150 per bike removed and £25 per day for the storage of each bike. The council has also issued 57 Fixed Penalty Notices issued to operators since August 2025 under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 for obstruction of the highway. Camden’s approach is to give operators at least two hours’ notice to remove a poorly parked bike before a FPN is issued. In most cases bikes are moved within that period.
- Dockless hire bikes contribute towards the Camden Transport Strategy Delivery Plan, Camden Clean Air Action Plan 2023-2026 and the latest Camden Climate Action Plan (2026-2030)