Dockless electric bikes are heralded as providing sustainable transport that’s easy to access, but derided for cluttering up pavements.
The ebike operator Forest, however, says it has come up with a solution to its bikes clogging up public space in London.
Forest has replaced its 10 minutes free daily offer with three new tiers that you can unlock after you pay the existing £1 fee.
The tiers will be assigned and displayed in Forest’s app for each electric bike: 1-5 minutes; 10 minutes; or 30 minutes.
The tier will depend on several factors, including whether a bike is in an “over-supplied” parking bay and if it has been idle for an extended period of time.
As a result, Forest says this scheme will help balance supply across the capital.
“Unlike pricing models that increase prices during peak demand, Forest’s approach works by rewarding riders for choosing bikes in high density areas to reduce overcrowding at parking bays, and aid fleet rebalancing,” Forest says.
The new tiering follows a recent pilot by the dockless ebike provider, where bikes that had been idle for more than five days were offered with 30 minutes of travel for £1.
“The trial saw discounted bikes being ridden on average 20% sooner, helping keep Forest’s fleet in motion across London,” Forest says.
“To build on this success, Forest will use real-time fleet data to determine when and where bikes should be relocated, while working closely with local authorities, residents, and riders to deliver a system that benefits the whole city.”
“In addition to improving fleet distribution, the new pricing structure will also help Forest reduce its operational energy consumption. By incentivising riders to move bikes rather than relying solely on support vehicles, Forest expects to improve the energy efficiency of the fleet’s support vehicles by 50%,” Forest adds.
To mark the launch, all Forest bikes in London will offer 30 minutes of riding for £1 on Wednesday 12 November.
