E-bike parking in London: where you can leave a Lime or Forest bike
Every borough sets its own rule. Some make you park in a marked bay, some let you leave the bike on the pavement, and 11 have no scheme at all. Pick your borough below, or let Cyclemate end the ride at a legal bay for you.
- 3,400+ marked e-bike bays
- 23,000+ cycle parking racks
- 22 boroughs with Lime or Forest
Can I park a shared e-bike here?
Tap a borough. The map shows where Lime and Forest operate and whether you have to finish in a bay.
Camden
Bay onlyIn Camden, shared e-bikes must be parked in a marked e-bike bay. The operator app will not end the ride anywhere else, so you keep paying until you reach one. Cyclemate's directions finish at the nearest bay to your destination.
Lime
ForestNever hunt for a bay again
Cyclemate knows every bay on its map and every borough rule. Plan an e-bike trip and the directions finish at a legal bay near your destination, not at the door.
Pick a destination
Type where you are going. Cyclemate checks which operator covers the borough and what its parking rule is.
Choose Lime or Forest
Tell the planner which bike you are riding, so the route only ends at a bay that operator can use.
Ride the SuperSafe™ way
Quiet streets and cycleways, turn by turn, same as any Cyclemate ride.
End at a legal bay
Directions finish at a marked bay inside the operator's area, then walk you to the door. Never at a spot where the app will refuse to end the ride.
Riding your own bike? Every rack, stand and hangar in the city is on the London cycle parking map, and the same switch ends your route at one of them.
E-bike parking in London, answered
Where can I park a Lime or Forest e-bike in London?
It depends on the borough. In 15 London boroughs (Brent, Camden, City of London, Ealing, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Merton, Wandsworth and Westminster) a shared e-bike must be left in a marked e-bike bay. In Greenwich, Kingston upon Thames, Lewisham, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton and Tower Hamlets a hire can end outside a bay, as long as the bike is upright and not blocking the pavement. Cyclemate ends every e-bike route at a legal place to park.
What happens if I leave a shared e-bike outside a bay?
In a bay-only borough the operator app will not let you end the ride, so you keep paying until you reach a bay. Where a ride can be ended, Lime and Forest can charge a fee for bad parking and restrict riders who keep doing it, and councils can remove bikes that block the pavement.
How many e-bike parking bays are there in London?
Cyclemate maps more than 3,400 marked e-bike bays across 15 London boroughs, alongside more than 23,000 ordinary cycle parking racks and stands. The bays come from 16 borough council datasets, 10 of which are refreshed every night.
Which London boroughs have Lime and Forest e-bikes?
22 of London's 33 boroughs have Lime or Forest e-bikes. Hackney, Enfield and the City of London are Lime only. Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton are Forest only. Eleven outer boroughs, including Barnet, Bromley, Croydon and Newham, have no shared e-bike scheme yet.
How does Cyclemate route me to an e-bike parking bay?
Cyclemate finishes the cycling directions at the nearest marked bay your operator can use, then walks you the rest of the way. Choose Lime or Forest in the planner and it checks the rule for the destination borough. If the operator does not serve that borough, the ride ends at a bay inside its area instead.
Does Cyclemate work with Santander Cycles too?
Yes. Santander Cycles are docked, so Cyclemate routes you to a docking station with free spaces near your destination.
For boroughs and operators
Put your bays on the map riders already use
We ingest bay locations from 16 borough datasets and route riders to them. Send us your feed, or tell us where the pavement problems are, and we will steer the next ride somewhere better.
- 3,400+
- marked bays on the Cyclemate map
- 16
- borough bay datasets ingested
- 10
- council feeds refreshed every night