Hounslow Council cabinet have approved a new six-month dockless e-bike rental scheme at the meeting on 18th April. 

The new e-bike scheme will see 300 bays placed around the borough shared by multiple operators to try and provide more sustainable transport options in Hounslow. 

The scheme will last six months with an optional six-month extension if desired and rolled out in three phases starting from May 2023, with Brentford and Chiswick being phase one, Osterley, Isleworth, and Hounslow as phase two starting in June, and Heston, Cranford, Bedfont, Feltham, and Hanworth as phase three starting in July. 

Councillor Katherine Dunne said: "E-bikes are becoming increasingly popular, I own an e-bike and it is a very good way to get around especially on longer journeys, for instance if I want to get into central London and not feel tired. 

"They are great for getting up hills, great for older people, and people with certain disabilities, or anyone who just enjoys the feeling of going along on an e-bike. 

"The rental schemes have been very popular in other boroughs, but they do have some problems. 

"We have already seen some of those problems in Hounslow, and that is partially because we do not have an agreement. 

"Lime allows use of their bikes in Hounslow already, but we have no agreement with them, people leave their bikes on the pavement and other places which are not that helpful for people who are trying to get by. 

"By introducing a formal scheme with a memorandum of understanding, we would be able to introduce more regulation to that. 

"One of the things we would have are dedicated parking bays, and operators would have to sign up to that memorandum." 

The bays will be implemented initially via Experimental Traffic Management Orders (ETMOs), with comments then invited on the scheme and bay locations for the duration of the 6 months trial. 

E-bike operating companies will be required to pay a fee to be part of the trial, with these fees being used to pay for the bays, of which the total cost is £90,000. 

Hounslow Council's forecasts suggest that revenue from the scheme would cover costs by the end of the first year.