Agenda item

Report ES19071

With continued activity in the market for dockless bicycle hire and further deployment expected by new operators, approval was sought for a delegation of powers to London Councils to make a pan-London byelaw to regulate ‘dockless’ bicycle hire schemes. Boroughs can then use the byelaw as appropriate to help mitigate potential negative impacts of dockless cycle hire; the byelaw can also help to realise benefits from dockless cycle hire. No legal power exists for local authorities to control the operation of dockless bicycle hire operators, and with Central Government not minded to introduce legislation, Councils are currently dependent on each operator’s approach. Accordingly, TfL and London Councils have been instructed by the latter’s Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) to develop a new regulatory approach to dockless bike sharing schemes through a new byelaw. Although focused on bicycles, the proposed byelaw covers dockless ‘vehicles’ generally catering for a potential introduction of e-scooters or similar products.

London Councils request delegated authority to introduce the byelaw requiring dockless operators to use designated parking spaces and to prohibit bikes being left anywhere not agreed by the applicable Councils. The extent of dockless vehicle parking and enforcing the byelaw would be at each borough’s discretion. L B Bromley could regulate the market as it saw fit so that commercially the borough could still be seen as an attractive market for potential providers; it would also provide the Council with an element of control over operators. To apply the byelaw uniformly across Greater London, each borough will need to delegate its authority to the TEC to make the byelaw; without all borough agreement it will not be possible to proceed.

A draft of the byelaw was appended to Report ES19071 and supplementary information published for the item prior to the meeting provided an Explanatory Note and Guidance. The byelaw would allow the Council the following provisions:

·  that all dockless bicycles/vehicles are identifiable with an individual asset number and are able to be located remotely;

·  that all dockless bicycles/vehicles meet the required safety and maintenance standards;

·  that dockless bicycles/vehicles are only ‘parked’ and hire terminated by the user in approved locations as defined by the Council; and

·  an ability to serve penalty notices for any breach of the above.

For the byelaw to apply London-wide, each London local authority participating in the TEC Joint Committee arrangement will need to delegate the exercise of additional functions to the Joint Committee requiring the TEC constitution - Governing Agreement, dated 13 December 2001 (as amended) - to be varied. Local authority functions related to the making of a pan-London byelaw for regulating dockless vehicles are not currently delegated as functions of the TEC. 

With the byelaw making function not currently delegated to the TEC and the Joint Committee not having authority to undertake the function on behalf of London local authorities, the London Councils’ TEC Agreement will also need amendment for the TEC to make the pan-London byelaw and Report ES19071 outlined how this would be enabled.  

The Committee supported the report’s recommendations but in so doing the Portfolio Holder highlighted a high probability that the TEC will agree to revise the detail of the byelaw in view of other boroughs wanting to charge a scheme operator for a licence. As such, the Committee agreed to additional wording for Recommendation 2.2 and it was accordingly RESOLVED that the Executive be recommended to recommend to Full Council that it delegates the promotion and making of a pan-London byelaw for dockless bicycle hire to London Councils and agrees to the proposed or revised TEC amendment that will be required to make the proposed byelaw, authorising the Director of Environment and Public Protection to sign the delegation as required.