Dott ends London e-bike service due to ‘high fees and varied regulations’
E-bike firm Dott has ended its London service because it was not possible to “run a financially sustainable” operation in the capital – just as its renewed e-scooter scheme takes off on Monday.
The company, which recently won a new contract as part of Transport for London’s e-scooter trial which starts on Monday, insisted it was not “quitting London”.
This comes after TfL gave Dott, Lime and Voi deals to run e-scooters in London, after the department for transport’s guidance allowing the scheme until May next year.
Dott will have just under 2,000 e-scooters in the second phase of the trial across the capital, starting on Monday.
While it continues investing in e-scooters, a spokesperson told City PM, “we have, in recent weeks, withdrawn our shared e-bike service” in London.
“This is because it was not possible for us to run a financially sustainable, shared e-bike service under the current market conditions in London.”
“High fees and varied regulations between boroughs led to an inconsistent experience for our riders, and a complex operation to run.”
The firm declined to disclose the figure for high fees.
On the withdrawal of its e-bike service, Dott said it was because they “are currently unregulated, and mainly dealt with on the borough level. This means that different areas across London have different approaches to parking, speed restrictions, slow zones, or whether the vehicles can be used at all.”
“And some boroughs have proposed fees which are unsustainable for operators.”
“The result for users is an inconsistent service, which is difficult to understand and which isn’t available for use across the whole city. “
It however said the e-scooter trial, which it is continuing with, was a “strong blueprint for improved and consistent shared e-bike regulation in the future”, and the firm “would welcome discussions about re-introducing our service should consistent regulations to shared e-bikes be applied across London in the future.”
City Hall has been approached for comment.