00:00They come in many colours and are on almost every corner of the capital, ever since the
00:10nicknamed Boris bikes were introduced to London almost 15 years ago.
00:16The hired bike market has boomed in London, particularly since the introduction of electric
00:21cycles. There are now more than 40,000 e-bikes available for hire in the capital and a quarter
00:27of them are run and owned by Forrest, who invited the Evening Standard behind the scenes
00:31to check out their operation in Elephant and Castle.
00:35So this is really the operations centre, so to fix and maintain and repair bikes, so bikes
00:42that ultimately get damaged on the street or require servicing, we'll make sure that
00:45they're brought in to this workshop where they'll go through a very thorough inspection,
00:51maintenance and repair, and then get tested and checked that they're adequate and safe
00:56to be rented, and then they'll be redeployed into various areas of our operational zone
01:01across London.
01:02Around 300 bikes flow through this hub every single day to be cleaned, have motors checked
01:08and have parts replaced.
01:11I think people would probably be quite surprised at how around the clock people are working
01:16to make sure that bikes are well maintained, well positioned, healthy levels of battery
01:23and that they work when they want them to.
01:25It's super important that when the user opens the app and they look for a bike, that they
01:30can actually find one and that it works, because we're trying to make this sort of shift in
01:36people's minds to choose a different transport mode, like an e-bike, rather than taking a
01:40car or a train.
01:42As more and more Londoners take to two wheels, the offering may be likely to change. TfL
01:47is drawing up new rules for what they call micro-mobility vehicles to prevent what's
01:52known as free-floating parking, where riders are allowed to leave a bike where they like
01:58after finishing a journey.
01:59If you've ever stepped over a randomly parked bike in the middle of a path or seen one in
02:04a random spot, this is what they're trying to stop.
02:07But companies like Forrest say this could stifle the attractiveness of bikes which they
02:11say are a green alternative to car travel, calling for a hybrid model to be considered.
02:17But if these plans are to go ahead by 2026, there could be a limit on the number of e-bikes
02:23per borough and citywide, and the free-floating parking model will be banned.
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