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This council supports cycling and sees dockless cycle hire
as a positive and fundamental step forward in increasing cycling
and cutting air pollution. As a borough which has not been included
in the TfL cycle hire scheme, dockless cycle hire is a welcome and
carbon friendly alternative mode of transport for our residents. We
know dockless cycles, if regulated appropriately and well-managed,
can be an environmentally friendly form of transport and popularly
used.  They can positively contribute
towards the council’s aims to promote cycling as described in
our Transport Strategy and reduce air pollution.
 
We appreciate the work the council is doing with Transport
for London, London Councils and with dockless cycle companies to
regulate their use, which is in the interests of everyone. We were
encouraged by the proposal to implement a phased scheme to trial
mandatory dockless cycle parking bays across the
borough.
 
However, we were dismayed to learn in August that the most
prominent dockless cycle hire company, already present in the
borough, now appears to be unwilling to support mandatory parking
bays. If we are to ensure the shift towards sustainable travel, we
need to make sure that dockless cycle operators listen and take
action against users that park obstructively on footpaths and
engage in anti-social behaviour – an issue that is of
particular concern for those residents with mobility issues and
visual impairments.
 
Dockless cycle hire companies must take responsibility for
both their cycles and their riders – the status quo
isn’t good enough. The Council receives multiple and regular
complaints about the location and position in which dockless cycles
are. From cycles being parked across pavements or footpaths, being
left in the middle of pedestrian crossings, to being discarded
outside entrances to shops and homes. Pedestrians and other road
users have been inconvenienced and injured by carelessly parked
dockless cycles. Dockless cycle operators must work with the
council to ensure that any anti-social behaviour by their riders is
tackled and that rules are adhered to.
We welcome the fact the government has announced
legislation through the Devolutions Bill that will end the Wild
West model for dockless cycle regulation and give local authorities
the enforcement powers they need to tackle irresponsible behaviour
and rogue operators.
 
·       
We call upon the
Council to work with dockless cycle operators to create dedicated
parking bays throughout the borough.
·       
We call upon dockless
cycle companies to substantially increase fines for antisocial use
to a level which acts as an effective deterrent.
·       
We call upon dockless
cycle operators to provide the council with full access to relevant
data, including operational activities and fleet numbers in the
borough.
·       
We call upon dockless
cycle companies to implement a user-friendly way for residents to
report issues and to react to them quickly, with a service-level
agreement.
·       
We call upon the
Council to consider banning dockless cycle hire companies from the
borough who have not signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Council to enforce the use of mandatory parking bays by Summer
2025.
·       
We call upon the
Council to work with the government to ensure that the council has
the enforcement regulatory powers that it needs to effectively
regulate local dockless cycle hire.
·       
Dockless cycles of
benefit both to residents and visitors to Greenwich as well as help
the borough meet its climate obligations, but they must be
regulated in an agreed way.