Ealing Council plans to make more electric bikes and scooters available across the borough to provide 'greater active travel options' for residents.  

The council is expanding the areas that residents are permitted to use e-bikes, which are currently available to rent from Lime and TIER in Ealing and Acton town centres.  

Residents around Southall can rent them from May, and they will be introduced to the rest of the borough later in the year. 

As part of the expansion, the council has found new locations for e-bike and e-scooter parking.   

These will be marked bays on the road and pavement to allow e-bikes and e-scooters to be parked safely.   

According to Ealing Council, over 58,000 e-bike trips were recorded monthly within the borough in 2023 and over 268,000 e-scooter journeys were completed since 2021.   

Ealing Council is also planning to introduce signage to make the parking bays easier to find.   

The speed of an e-bike is limited to 15.5mph while an e-scooter is limited to 12.5mph 

The operator's app is used to rent an e-bike and charges start at 23p per minute. Riders can also buy a 30-minute ride pass for £3.   

Similar to e-bikes, renting an e-scooter involves using an operator app, requiring riders to be at least 18-years-old and possess a full or provisional driving license.   

All operators charge £1 to unlock the e-scooter, with charges of 15p – 20p per minute afterwards. 

Councillor Deirdre Costigan on a Lime e-scooter (credit: Ealing Council).

In bringing e-bikes and e-scooters to Southall and the rest of the borough, the council is planning to put the majority of parking bays onto roads and in some cases on wider pavements, with clear markings to show where the e-bikes and e-scooters must park.  

To make sure that the proposed parking locations meet the needs of local people, with the help of Let's Go Southall, Ealing Council officers met with Southall residents in February to hear their views.  

The council says it will be asking more residents about the proposed parking locations later this month.  

Councillor Deirdre Costigan, deputy leader and member for climate action said: "It's right that Southall residents will now be able to choose low cost and low polluting e-bikes and e-scooters, just like residents in other parts of the borough.  

"Our new on-street parking bays will also ensure pavements are kept clear of clutter and bikes can be parked safely. 

"We're investing £10million to make walking and cycling easier for residents, as part of our commitment to active travel and to tackling air pollution.  

"E-bikes and e-scooters are a cheap and convenient alternative for residents who want to help fight the climate crisis by leaving their car at home for shorter trips." 

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