Transport for London should publish interim guidance on dockless e-bikes rather than wait for new licensing powers to come into force, a prospective mayoral candidate has said.

Sarah Olney, who has declared her interest in running for City Hall for the Liberal Democrats, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Londoners cannot afford to wait for legislation to catch up before Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan acts.

The question matters locally. In Waltham Forest, the council launched a public consultation after the Green Party took power in May on whether to let Lime, Forest and other rental companies operate in the borough, in response to high public demand.

Dockless e-bikes have grown rapidly in London and now account for a tenth of the 1.5 million daily cycling journeys made in the city, according to TfL estimates. Campaigners have pressed authorities to hold operators to account over bikes left blocking pavements, which reduce space for pedestrians and particularly affect those with mobility or sight issues. Councils across the capital have seized 3,393 hazardously parked or abandoned e-bikes this year — already 23% more than in the whole of 2025.

At present each council signs its own deals with individual operators, producing a patchwork of access across the capital. In Enfield, the new Conservative-led council recently blocked Lime from operating in the south of the borough despite the previous Labour administration having agreed a deal, citing "concerns about their operations, bikes being abandoned and causing obstructions". Lime and Forest bikes have been permitted in Haringey for the past two-and-a-half years, though last year a disability group warned they were turning the borough "into a death trap". In Barnet, no operators have been permitted at all.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, passed earlier this year, hands TfL sweeping licensing powers to replace those borough-by-borough variations with a single city-wide framework. It allows TfL to licence operators, potentially cap the number of bikes on London's streets, dictate where they can be parked, and fine operators that fail to meet parking or safety standards.

Secondary legislation is still required to bring the powers into force, and TfL cannot introduce any measures until that happens. In June, the mayor told the London Assembly that the act would not have an impact on Londoners until early 2027.

"The problem is a lot of the powers we would get flow from the need for secondary legislation," he said. "The good news is this can be done through committee rather than the full floor of the house. No need for primary legislation; it can be secondary."

In the meantime, Olney argues, City Hall should publish guidance on standards, accessibility and enforcement that providers can sign up to voluntarily.

"The mayor doesn't need to wait for every last piece of legislation to be signed off before he acts — he could publish guidance today on parking standards, accessibility and enforcement," she said.

"Every month of delay means more bikes blocking pavements, more blind and disabled Londoners unable to get around safely, and a missed opportunity to get ahead of the problem instead of just reacting to it."

She added that a single London-wide approach, sharing best practice across all 32 boroughs rather than leaving each to fend for itself, "is exactly what operators like Lime say they need to justify further investment".

A spokesperson for the mayor said he "welcomes the government's plans to give cities powers to better manage dockless e-bike schemes — something he's been calling for since 2017 when the first schemes arrived in London", and that TfL and the mayor are working with the Department for Transport on the secondary legislation "as quickly as possible".

"Dockless e-bike services are helping thousands more Londoners to cycle, but it is vital that stronger rules on safety, data sharing and parking are at the heart of any future regulation to ensure the industry can continue to thrive," the spokesperson added.