Threatening both firms while only one set of riders faces a fine is a strange way to make the point.
The lifts at either end of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel are what makes it a river crossing rather than a staircase. If you are pushing a pram or using a wheelchair, they are the only way through. Too often they are blocked by a hire bike that somebody could not be bothered to take back up to the surface.
Greenwich Council has now told Lime and Forest that if they cannot get a grip on it, they may not be welcome in the borough at all. Calum O'Byrne Mulligan, the cabinet member for transport, told a council transport scrutiny panel this month that a failure to work with the council "does bring into question whether or not they are appropriate to operate in our borough", as reported by Greenwich Wire.
That is a borough-wide threat, so it reaches this side of the heath as much as Cutty Sark Gardens. When the council switched on its new network of mandatory parking bays in August, 29 of them across Deptford, Greenwich, the Peninsula and Westcombe Park, two went in on Maze Hill.
Both firms already have agreements with the council forbidding customers from taking bikes into the tunnel. Riders ignore them, and repeated lift breakdowns have made the pile-up worse. The council's proposed fix is sensible and small: more bays at each tunnel entrance, and riders pausing a hire rather than ending it before they walk through, so the bike stays reserved instead of parked across a doorway. Lime says it fines and bans users who break the tunnel rules and clears reported bikes within hours. Forest says it takes irresponsible parking of this kind very seriously and will work with the council.
The awkward part is the council's own scheme. Under the August rollout a Lime rider can be fined for leaving a bike outside a bay; a Forest rider cannot yet, with the same penalty promised to follow. Threatening both firms while only one set of riders faces a fine is a strange way to make the point.
A warning at a scrutiny panel will not clear a lift. Bays at both tunnel mouths and a penalty that applies to every operator will. The question for the council this autumn is when Forest riders start paying for a badly parked bike, and whether the new bays reach the tunnel entrances before the dark evenings make the obstruction a hazard as well as a nuisance.
- Greenwich Council's cabinet member for transport warned Lime and Forest their operating rights in the borough could be questioned over abandoned bikes in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
- The tunnel connects Cutty Sark Gardens to Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs
- Both firms' agreements with the council already ban customers from taking hire bikes into the tunnel
- Recurrent lift breakdowns in the tunnel have compounded the obstruction problem
- The council's proposed fix is more parking bays at tunnel entrances and encouraging riders to pause rather than end their hire before walking through
- 29 mandatory e-bike parking bays were installed borough-wide from 11 August 2026, including two on Maze Hill in Westcombe Park
- Lime riders already face fines for parking outside designated bays; Forest riders do not yet face the same penalty
Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 26 September 2026.
- Lime and Forest bikes, Greenwich Foot Tunnel, Woolwich (media)
- Roll-out of rental e-bike parking bays to tackle street clutter and improve accessibility (council)
- Lime, Voi and Forest e-bikes block Greenwich Foot Tunnel (media)
Claim by claim (10 facts, 8 editorial judgements)
- Calum O'Byrne Mulligan, Greenwich Council's cabinet member for transport, told a transport scrutiny panel that Lime and Forest's failure to tackle abandoned bikes in the tunnel questions whether they are appropriate to operate in the borough — media, 2026-09-22“if they do not demonstrate willingness to work with us on that, then it does bring into question whether or not they are appropriate to operate in our borough”
- The Greenwich Foot Tunnel connects Cutty Sark Gardens to Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs — media, 2026-09-22“the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, which connects Cutty Sark Gardens to Island Gardens”
- Lime and Forest have agreements with Greenwich Council already forbidding customers taking hire bikes into the tunnel — media, 2026-09-22“agreements with Greenwich Council that already forbid customers taking hire bikes into the tunnel”
- Regular lift breakdowns in the tunnel have worsened the obstruction problem — media, 2026-09-22“The situation has worsened due to regular lift breakdowns in the tunnel”
- The council's proposed remedy includes additional parking bays at tunnel entrances and encouraging users to pause rather than end their hire before walking through — media, 2026-09-22“users can pause their rides and resume them after walking through, encouraging this practice”
- Lime says users who violate tunnel restrictions face fines and bans and its team removes reported bikes within hours — business, 2026-09-22“Lime says users who violate tunnel restrictions face fines and bans, and its on-street team removes bikes within hours of being reported”
- Forest says it takes irresponsible parking very seriously and is willing to work with the council — business, 2026-09-22“Forest says it takes "irresponsible parking of this kind very seriously" and is willing to work with the council”
- Greenwich Council installed 29 mandatory dockless-bike parking bays across Deptford, Greenwich town centre, East Greenwich, Westcombe Park and Greenwich Peninsula from 11 August 2026, after a consultation held 4-25 March 2026 — council, 2026-08-11“29 mandatory parking bay sites installed from 11 August 2026 over six days, following a public consultation held 4–25 March 2026”
- Two of the new bays are in Westcombe Park, on Maze Hill — council, 2026-08-11“Maze Hill Site 1 (north, between Westcombe Park Road and Highmore Road junctions) and Maze Hill Site 2 (south, opposite The Joan Roan School)”
- Under the parking bay scheme Lime users already face penalties for parking outside bays, while Forest users will soon face the same arrangement — council, 2026-08-11“Forest users will soon face the same penalty arrangement”
- Judgement: The panel meeting took place on Thursday 17 September 2026
- Judgement: The lifts are what makes the tunnel a river crossing rather than a staircase, and the only way through for someone with a pram or a wheelchair.
- Judgement: Bikes are left in the tunnel by riders who could not be bothered to take them back to the surface.
- Judgement: The threat is borough-wide and so reaches Westcombe Park and Blackheath Standard as well as the riverside.
- Judgement: The council's proposed remedy is sensible and small.
- Judgement: Threatening both firms while only one set of riders faces a fine is a strange way to make the point.
- Judgement: A warning at a scrutiny panel will not clear a lift; bays at both entrances and a penalty applying to every operator will.
- Judgement: Dark evenings would make an obstructed tunnel a hazard as well as a nuisance.
Photograph: Henry Zbyszynski from Capitola California, USA, CC BY 2.0 · source · licence
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