A petition has been created asking Richmond Council to reconsider its decision to ban Lime bikes from the borough following an exclusive £3m deal with Lime's rivals Forest.

The council's Transport Committee agreed to award exclusive operating rights for e-bike services to Forest on Monday, 16 March, which will effectively ban Lime bikes from being hired or parked in the borough.

The decision came despite objections from several locals at the meeting. 

The petition, which was launched on Monday (23 March), already has 912 signatures. 

In a letter to the council, petition starter, Esther Van de Pette, highlights how the decision to grant exclusive e-bike operating rights to one operator will create traffic and increased congestion to the "limited available routes" in Barnes, which s surrounded by the Thames on three sides. 

Van de Pette writes: "Residents in SW13 are already experiencing a constrained and fragile transport environment. Rail services from Barnes and Barnes Bridge are relatively low frequency compared to other parts of London, with limited off-peak services and reduced Sunday timetables. 

"These lines are particularly vulnerable to disruption, including engineering works and line failures, national rail strikes and service suspensions due to infrastructure issues. When disruption occurs, there are very few alternative routes available due to the geography of the area".

She goes on to mention how the removal of the 533 bus route  will "reduce direct journeys and increase reliance on interchanges".

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"Taken together, this means the transport network serving SW13 is both limited and lacking resilience," Van de Pette said.

 She explains that e-bikes play a "critical role", "providing an alternative during rail disruption or strikes; bridging gaps between limited rail and bus services; offering a reliable way to exit and enter the area when roads are congested and; offering a quick route out of the area via Hammersmith bridge which is otherwise only accessible on foot".  

Van de Pette says that many older school children also use Lime bikes to get to school.

 She says that the exclusion of Lime introduces several clear disadvantages, including:

1.   Loss of consumer choice. Residents will be restricted to a single provider (Forest), removing competition on pricing, service quality, and usability.

2.   Availability and reliability. Lime operates one of the largest and most widely available fleets in London. Moving to a single-provider model reduces availability and creates a single point of failure.

3.   Pricing and access. Lime offers bundles and ride passes that reduce costs for regular users. These options will no longer be available, and alternative pricing structures may not suit all users.

4.   Imposed advertising model. Forest's ad-supported model introduces advertising as a condition of lower-cost usage, which should not be imposed through public policy decisions.

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5.   Loss of familiarity. Many residents are already familiar with Lime's system. Forcing a change introduces unnecessary friction, particularly for occasional or less confident users.

6.   Council's own assessment of service quality. It is particularly concerning that, according to reporting on the procurement process, Lime scored more highly on service quality criteria than Forest, yet was not selected. This indicates that service quality and user experience were not the decisive factors in the decision.

 Speaking about the petition, Hal Stevenson, Director of Policy for  Lime UK and Ireland, told Nub News: "It's clear from local resident's response that the Council's decision is not popular and does not reflect how they want to travel. 

"Shared e-bike schemes work best when they give people choice and ensure consistent availability. Limiting the borough to a single operator risks reducing both, particularly in areas where existing transport links are already constrained.

"Across London, boroughs are moving toward multi-operator models because they support more resilient networks and better serve how people actually travel. Restricting that choice in Richmond risks undermining access to cycling at a time when it is needed most."

Local resident, Ian Stephens added: "I strongly support this petition. Richmond Council's decision deprives residents of reliable, sustainable transport options. 

"A single operatering model does not reflect the way residents actually travel, reduces choice and weakens connectivity with neighbouring boroughs. This is not a proportionate decision made in the public interest."

The local Green party has also expressed its opposition to the council's decision, saying it would switch from "one monopoly provider of e-bikes in the borough to another", rather than allowing two operators.

Speaking about the move, Lib Dem councillor Alexander Ehmann, Chair of the committee, said: ""It's really important to recognise, as per some of the comments that have been made from residents, that we want integrity of service and we want to see service delivery that fosters greater take-up of these services, not reduced take-up."

The petition can be found here.