Dott is taking its e-bikes out of London, saying the capital’s bike rental market is “totally out of control”, according to the Evening Standard. The firm said the ‘failure’ to regulate the capital’s rental e-bikes in a similar way to e-scooters “made no sense”, and was bad for business and users.
The firm is removing its 2,500 bikes from the capital, which will be sent to Paris and Rome.
Chief executive Henri Moissinac explained: “London is the only place where you have two modes side by side - one regulated by TfL, the e-scooters, and the other that is totally out of control, that is the e-bike.”
Moissinac also said Dott cyclists gave “extremely negative feedback” when Camden Council struck a deal with Forest (formerly named HumanForest) and Lime, as it meant Dott bikes' electric motors cut out when crossing into the borough.
> Lime contractor tracked seized e-bikes to council lock-up and took them back
“It makes no sense for the user to get stuck on some kind of virtual barrier between one borough and another... to cut the city in half like this,” he said. “Almost every ride in central London would lead to a complaint... the negative impact was so big for us we had to stop.”
Moissinac said Dott would, “100% support TfL in running a combined scheme - both scooters and e-bikes, and the same geofence for both modes and the same rules for all operators.”
London’s e-scooter trial began in June 2021, with Dott, Lime and Tier selected as operators by TfL and London Councils. On September 25, TfL announced the second phase of the rental e-scooters trial in the capital, this time with Dott, Lime and Voi operating the schemes.
Michael Ventouris, general manager, London, at Dott, said: "The first phase of London's e-scooter trial has successfully shown that shared e-scooters can provide an efficient, safe and reliable service, carefully integrated into the city to respect all residents.
“We look forward to working closely with TfL and the other operators to continue to grow the service, encouraging more people to switch from cars to sustainable alternatives and contributing to lower pollution and congestion in London."
Dott also operated rental e-scooters in Paris before residents of the French capital voted to ban the vehicles in a referendum earlier this year.
In response to the vote, a Dott spokesman said: "We will continue to offer e-bikes in Paris and plan to expand our fleet to meet anticipated demand from the 400,000 users of shared e-scooters that will need to find alternative transport."
