Voi providing half the number of e-bikes they have promised in Hounslow

Chiswick councillors and guest speakers at the Chiswick Area Forum

Chiswick Area Forum discusses the new e-bike contracts in LB Hounslow

The e-bike provider Voi is providing ‘just over half’ the number of bikes it promised to provide in LB Hounslow when they and Forest won the contracts this summer.

Representatives of the two companies were at the Chiswick Area Forum last night (Monday 13 October) to answer questions from councillors and the public about their services. They took over from market leader Lime in August.

The change of provider made national headlines when TV presenter Dara Ó Briain, who lives in Chiswick, likened the border crossing with Richmond at Chiswick Bridge to ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ after Lime stopped their bikes from working at the borough boundary.

They have now agreed that their bikes can be ridden across the borough, but the exclusive contracts with Forest and Voi mean customers cannot leave Lime bikes in the borough or pick them up from here to start their journey.

READ ALSO: Lime bikes lose contract to Forest and Voi in LB Hounslow

READ ALSO: Dara Ó Briain likens e-bike borders to ‘Checkpoint Charlie’

Voi and Forest bikes

Availability of bikes a problem for users

Apart from the major inconvenience of not being able to ride a Lime bike home, e-bike users have complained about having to have two apps, depending on where they wanted to go – Forest also operate in Hammersmith and Fulham, while Voi also operate in Ealing – and the lack of availability of bikes in residential parking bays.

Michael Duc, who oversees the London operation for Voi, told the meeting they were new players in the e-bike market and were “slowly scaling to reach the agreed capacity”, but at the moment, two months into their two-year contract, they were providing just over 50% the number of bikes they had promised.

He admitted they had secured more contracts with London boroughs than they had anticipated.

Alexandra Crush, Hounslow Council’s Programme Strategy Manager, said this was within the agreed parameters of the contract, meeting the minimum threshold.

She explained the Council had opted for two providers to introduce an element of competition and said if they had remained with Lime they would not have had much leverage to hold them to account.

Forest immediately put their prices up

One of the criteria on which Forest and Voi were awarded the contracts was the price of their services to the consumer.

Dominic Hughes, City Relations Supervisor for Forest, admitted they had put their prices up immediately after winning the contract. He said the prices set by the various London boroughs for them to operate necessitated the increase.

They are the second biggest e-bike operator in London after Lime, operating in more than 20 boroughs. Even though they were forced to put their prices up he said, they still offered 30 minutes for £1.

Lime bikes in a residential street parking bay when they were the sole e-bike provider in the borough

Will the Council reinstate Lime?

Fred Barton, who has started a petition to reinstate Lime bikes, which has so far attracted 775 signatures, said his issue with the new contracts was availability.

“It’s fine in Chiswick but dreadful in other areas. I work in Victoria, and I can never find a Voi”.

He said the decision had been taken without consideration for users and the number of signatures his petition had received was indicative of the level of dissatisfaction at the inconvenience to e-bike users. He asked if the Council would reconsider.

Alexandra Crush told the meeting the Council was locked into a two-year contract with Voi and Forest, with an option to renew for another year. What would happen at that point was dependent on both performance and progress on a pan-London deal.

Another e-bike user in the audience, Trevor MacFarlane, said he was glad the Council had not “pandered to the market leader”. He later posted on X that it was ‘Encouraging to hear @LBofHounslow pushing e-bike providers hard to deliver safer, smarter, better services’.

What is the Council doing about abandoned Lime bikes?

The other main issue brought up by people at the meeting, held at St Michael & All Angels Church, was the dumping of Lime bikes around the church, filling up the bays intended for Voi and Forest bikes and the ordinary bike racks and spilling over into parking spaces.

“Everyone wants to get to Turnham Green because it is a boundary station for fares”.

The Council’s spokeswoman said Hounslow Highways were tasked with removing Lime bikes, but the church was on the boundary with Ealing, so the Council could only notify the neighbouring borough to deal with the problem on their side. Hounslow Highways charges a fee for collection and storage, which the Council passes on to Lime.

She said she would take back a suggestion from one woman in the audience that traffic wardens could report abandoned Lime bikes, but otherwise residents could report them to Hounslow Highways through Fix My Street.

The representatives for both Forest and Voi said they had not had problems with hacking, so there should not be the problem Lime bikes have of being used illegally without payment and dumped just anywhere.

We also learned that the speed setting for travelling along Chiswick High Road is 15.5mph.

Cllr Katherine Dunne

Interview with Cllr Katherine Dunne, Hounslow’s Cabinet Member responsible for the decision

The Chiswick Calendar has also spoken to Hounslow’s Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment & Transport, Cllr Katherine Dunne about the decision to ditch Lime and how the new contracts with Forest and Voi are performing. She told us: “The situation is not ideal”. You can read her interview here:

READ ALSO: “The situation is not ideal” – Hounslow’s Cabinet Member for Transport talks e-bikes with The Chiswick Calendar

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