E-bike fares capped at £1.75 in Hackney — could the rest of London be next?

Exclusive: Lime and Voi win the battle for control of the £93m Hackney rental e-bike market, amid a fierce London-wide battle between deep-pocketed companies vying for control of a booming industry

London Centric doesn’t normally publish in the evening — but after we went to the companies in this story for comment, we got a tip that the local council may have brought forward an announcement in a bid to get ahead of our article.

It’s much more fun to bring you the news first, so please enjoy this special Thursday night edition about the big money being thrown around by Lime and its rivals in a bid to dominate the London rental e-bike market. Only paying members receive the full version of the story.

Normal service will resume soon — do get in touch if you have a story tip we should be looking into.

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A woman cycles past Ridley Road market in Hackney on a Lime e-bike.

Hackney residents will soon pay a flat fare of just £1.75 to use rental e-bikes within the east London borough, as part of a big money deal that the local council has struck with Lime and rival e-bike operator Voi.

The flat price deal, London Centric understands, will only apply to e-bike journeys made entirely within the borough by people who live in Hackney. But it sets a precedent that other London councils may now seek to copy for their own residents — with the offer potentially becoming a vote winner in next year’s local elections.

Under the new system, someone cycling the length of Hackney from Clapton to Shoreditch would never need to pay more than £1.75 for the half hour cycle ride. The low cost is benchmarked against the cost of a London bus fare, potentially making it a faster and more attractive option than the buses and trains run by Transport for London.

Lime e-bikes await their riders at the Hackney Half marathon in early 2025.

As part of the agreement, Lime and its much smaller competitor Voi have also agreed to share a percentage of all revenue from all e-bike journeys that start in Hackney with the council, transforming the bike providers’ relationship with local authorities. The deal, due to come into effect next month, could see millions of pounds paid to the local borough over the coming years — incentivising the council to promote Lime and Voi’s e-bikes.

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“Matching bus fares”

Hackney council had intended to announce which companies had won the contract at a later date — but London Centric got hold of the winning bids, which value Hackney’s rental e-bike market at up to £93m over the next five years.

Harry Foskin, Voi’s UK public policy manager, confirmed the plan to London Centric on Thursday night: “Our flat fare applies to Hackney residents, costing £1.75, matching bus fares. We offer a wide range of concessions which non-residents travelling in the borough can take advantage of, including day, week, and month passes and our equitable access programme.”

A spokesperson for Lime also confirmed it had struck a new deal with the council, which had sought the introduction of a flat fare: “We’re thrilled to continue working with Hackney Council to offer its residents an accessible, affordable service.”

But what might look like a straightforward deal hides a messy big money pan-London battle over control of the e-bike market, with rival operator Forest missing out — and now likely to be banned from operating its bikes in Hackney for the next five years.

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The competition behind the scenes: “Lime has been flush with cash from American venture capitalists”.

What few Londoners realise is that, in the absence of any coherent city-wide rules, the capital’s e-bike operators are increasingly competing against each other for the right to operate in each of the capital’s 33 local authorities on a case-by-case basis.

The government is promising to give Transport for London the power to regulate e-bikes across the capital, although this system is not likely to be in place for another couple of years. As a result the competing e-bike companies, backed by investors, are engaged in a panicked rush to dominate the London market while it remains a relative Wild West and negotiations can take place with individual councils.