SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up Talking Point The rental bikes that are dividing London Fans swear by their convenience but detractors see danger in the green 'invasion' Newsletter sign up Badly parked Lime bikes 'littered on the streets' (Image credit: Peter Dazeley / Getty Images) Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK 22 July 2025 As the media reports a "surge" in the "dangerous crossings" of migrants, I'm "seeing an invasion of a different sort", said veteran actor Joan Collins in The Spectator: the rental bikes that "litter our pavements". I've been "almost run over twice" by Lime bikes and I've also tripped over discarded cycles "on the streets of Belgravia". Their riders "seem to care not for road rules, pedestrians, safety, or anyone but themselves". Take them away I was hit by a Lime bike and "my knees ate gravel, my side was rammed by a metal basket", my palms only just stopped me from "faceplanting the ground". It "hurt. A lot", said Maddy Mussen in London's The Standard. Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Now there are so many of them; "that mass of green scares me", and there have been many "issues". The e-bikes "end up littered on the streets" which is a "real issue for blind and visually impaired people who trip over them", and people "regularly" ride them while drunk. Lots of riders also wear "AirPods or headphones" so "not only are Limes super-silent, but everyone's walking around with ears full of cotton wool". We're "not ready yet" so until we learn to "use the Limes safely", perhaps they "need to be taken away". Despite their semi-silent operation, the bikes do cause a noise problem – to the "ire" of many Londoners: the "piercing and persistent" alarm of stolen Lime bikes, which sounds like a "half-bothered fire alarm you accidentally set off", is "everywhere", said Sammy Gecsoyler in The Guardian. Stop whining But fans of the rental e-bikes insist that they're a convenient and money-saving mode of transport. So perhaps we should "stop whining" about them, writes George Hill on Road.cc, because "let's be honest, they're brilliant". I recently took one across London for a journey that would have cost me £20 and 20 minutes in a taxi each way, or 25 minutes by tube, but on a Lime bike, I did it in 12 minutes. It "cost me about three quid" and I arrived without being "sweaty" or "poor". For many older people they're a "godsend", said Matt Sinha in The i Paper, and their "rapid acceleration gives me a buzz". Wherever you live, thanks to a Lime bike you are "part of the scene" with a "different take on your surroundings". Also, "touch your mental brakes" on "that thought about poorly parked bikes" because for all the "teens or revellers" who push over a stack of Lime bikes, or people who "create potential obstacles", I can "set an example" by "finding a space" and "stacking one correctly". So "why not give a Lime bike a spin"? Not only are they "mood enhancers", but they're also "affordable, good for the environment, easily available" and they encourage a "marginally more active lifestyle", said London's The Standard. Explore More Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Social Links Navigation Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books. How to spend the summer in Salt Lake City The Week Recommends Hang out in the Maven District and bike your way around town Crossword: July 22, 2025 The Week's daily crossword Sudoku medium: July 22, 2025 The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle You might also like Southwest joins rival airlines on paid baggage The company is ending its longtime free-luggage policy US jet fuel tanker, cargo ship collide off UK coast A cargo vessel carrying a toxic chemical collides with a US-military chartered oil tanker in the North Sea New York rolls out vehicle toll in Manhattan In an effort to reduce traffic gridlock, vehicles will automatically be charged a toll to drive below 60th Street Senate passes FAA bill with new consumer protections The legislation will require airlines to refund customers for flight delays US to require automatic braking on new cars 'We're living through a crisis in roadway deaths' LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground The railway will be ready as soon as 2028 Paris bans e-scooter rentals Talking Point Electric vehicles were popular with younger residents but older Parisians swung the crucial referendum Should cyclists have to abide by the same rules as drivers? Today's Big Question Transport secretary’s plans could see ‘dramatic shake-up’ of rules for bike users View More ▸ Contact Future's experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street