Dockless bikes dumped: Firms told to help retrieve them from canals

A charity says it is spending “time and effort” removing dockless bikes from canals around Britain – partly because some of the firms hiring them out do nothing to help.

The Canal and River Trust said more than 100 bikes a year were being thrown into canals in London.

Its latest haul, gathered at its depot beside the Thames, included 20 Mobikes, seven from Santander, one each from Lime and Urbo, and nine from Ofo.

Dockless bike share does not require a docking station. They can be parked within a defined operating area, at a public bike rack or on a footpath against a tree or lamp post. Dockless bikes can be located and unlocked using a smartphone app.

The trust’s head of operations for London and the South east, Charlotte Wood, said the problem was “really annoying” and affected “everyone using the canals, particularly boaters”.

She added: “As a charity it costs us time and effort to remove them.”

Ms Wood said bikes that ended up in the water “are likely to have been stolen, so it’s not really down to hirers”.

But some companies have been more willing to help than others, she added.

Ms Wood said: “Fair play to TfL (Transport for London). They reimburse us for the Santander bikes we return to them.

“Freebikes have also been proactive in trying to help. However, there’s a plethora of other hire organisations who don’t seem as interested in working together.

“We think it’s because they get their bikes so cheaply it’s not cost effective to cover their return.”

In 2018, Mobike pulled out of Manchester, saying 10% of its bikes were destroyed or stolen, and in April this year, the company removed its fleet from Newcastle and Gateshead after many were dumped in the River Tyne.

CoMoUK, a charity which acts as the accreditation body for bike share in the UK, said it was open to discussing the problem with “all parties involved”.

Chief Executive Richard Dilks said: “No operator wants their bikes to end up in a canal. It sends the wrong message for all concerned and has a damaging visual impact on the reputation of the provider and shared bikes more generally.”

Ms Wood said canals were in a “golden period” and that the trust “want that to continue and need everyone to help”.

She added: “And that includes those businesses whose products, one way or other, are ending up in the water.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Dockless bikes dumped: Firms told to help retrieve them from canals