It’s after more than 40 e-bikes were removed from the borough’s streets after they were found in obstructive and dangerous positions.
Council officers confiscated 30 Lime bikes and 12 Forest bikes and took them to a lock up.
The operators had to pay the fee in order to have them released.
Cllr Cem Kemahli, lead member for planning and public realm, said:
“We remain supportive of rental e-bikes but there is a line. Where abandoned bikes are putting pedestrians and drivers in danger we are acting now to remove them.
“It takes a fair amount of officer time to enforce in this way, so I am relieved that the trial has shown that operators are willing to cough up to cover the costs of seizing and storing their bikes. The truth is we cannot catch every single bike and I hope operators realise that a better solution for everyone is for them to act more quickly to clear obstructions and to incentivise respectful and considerate rider behaviour.”
There are 254 rental e-bike parking bays in Kensington and Chelsea, with 187 marked bays and the rest virtual bays visible via provider apps.
The borough was one of the first to introduce parking bays to try tackle bikes randomly abandoned.
The first 128 bays were introduced in 2023 with more added in 2024.
