Richmond Council announced on 1 June 2026 as follows.

Forest is a company which operates dockless electric bicycle rentals. We have a new agreement with Forest to be the sole operator of dockless rental e-bikes in Richmond upon Thames.  From 1 June 2026, Forest e-bikes will be available to rent in the borough, with Lime gradually withdrawing their fleet of e-bikes.

Forest e-bikes are already available in neighbouring boroughs, providing residents and visitors with a large contiguous operational area from Richmond. E-bikes continue to grow in popularity with over 1.5 million trips made in Richmond in 2025.

The agreement with Forest permits them to deploy e-bikes into our designated parking bays across the borough. The new arrangement means that:

• More bikes will be available in the borough, making it a more reliable travel option
• Designated parking spaces will make it easier to find a bike and encourage considerate parking
• Forest staff will be on duty in the borough to respond quickly to any issues that arise

How to hire a bike

To hire a Forest bike, simply download the Forest app and register with an account. The app enables you to locate, unlock and pay for your ride. You must be over 18 to register. 

Parking

View a map of the designated parking locations. The blue dots show locations where e-scooters will be deployed, the green dots show locations where Forest hire bikes will be deployed. Users of both schemes can park in any of these bays. Users can park Forest bikes outside the designated locations, and must ensure that the bike does not cause a nuisance or obstruction.

Residents will be watching this development. The Council decided in favour of Forest; it is more profitable for the Borough. BUT on the face of it responsibility remains firmly with the user. So

i) will Forest remove abandoned bikes speedily; ii) will Forest ensure that bikes cannot be manipulated to avoid speed controls; and iii) that they cannot freely be used as transportation by miscreants.

Previous questions about preventing them being used on pavements, speeding and going through traffic controls have been ignored. Will there be any improvement in cycling behaviour?