Lime electric bikes could soon to be banned from the whole of Richmond Borough as its arch-competitor Forest takes its place, we can reveal.
The bright green bikes have become hazards in Teddington causing accidents when they are dumped across pavements as well as thrown into the Thames or left in the middle of Bushy Park and Richmond Park.
The bikes could vanish as it has been revealed that Forest are set to sign an exclusive tender with Richmond council.
The deal, which would see Lime bikes banned from being hired or parked in Richmond, came after Forest outbid their competitors in a formal bidding process to the council.
Council documents seen by the Times showed that Lime had outscored both Forest and Voi – an e-scooter competitor – on ‘service quality’ but had lost out on the pricing bid made to the council.
A spokesperson for 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.”
Richmond council’s scoring system is decided so that 25 per cent depends on a ‘concessionary fee to the council’ and the rest is made up by a judgement on user pricing.
The council papers read: “Officers consider the submission from Forest (as sole provider) represents the best overall proposal.”
Another document, 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, but officials have recommended Forest’s bid.
It will next be discussed at a meeting of the borough’s transport committee on Monday, March 16.
If the deal goes through it would be a major blow to Lime, who are currently the exclusive providers of e-bikes in Richmond – which saw over 1.5million Lime green trips last year.
It would also mean large parts of south-west London become no-go areas for Lime, since the e-bikes are currently also banned from Kingston-upon-Thames and Sutton, though both boroughs are also tendering to expand provision to have two operators
Richmond would also become the only borough in London to have a single e-transport provider, since other councils have a minimum of two.
Since August 2025, Hounslow and Richmond council have been engulfed in a war over which rental bike companies are able to operate within their boroughs.
A Lime spokesperson said: “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.”
They added: “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.’
A spokesperson for Forest said: “As London’s homegrown shared e-bike operator, we’re delighted to have been selected as the sole provider by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
‘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 south west London, connecting riders across Kingston, Hounslow, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Wandsworth.
“Strengthening these connections makes cycling more accessible and is a positive step for sustainable transport across the city.”
