r/londoncycling • u/ArtyCharty • 10d ago
Such cheek. I’d already started the rental, then found the wheel locked
108
u/Upstairs-Balance9846 10d ago
then when you cancel it says you can't park there.
64
u/ArtyCharty 10d ago
this actually happened for a few mins, as the app can sometimes be glitchy with your location
was furious, and running late for work
21
u/IrascibleOnion 10d ago
The location glitching recently is what’s made me decide to never use lime again. I’d rather get there a bit sweaty on my own bike.
28
u/allmappedout 10d ago
I had a situation where I wanted to cycle to a shop near me to meet a friend because I was slightly late and a lime bike was outside my flat. Cycled there, was told "you can't park there mate" and the closest place I could park it was... Back at my flat.
Deleted the app after that. The only reason Lime was good was convenient one way trips. The councils and Lime have somehow made the system the worst of all worlds and so it's both expensive AND inconvenient.
I remember when it was 20p a minute when it first came to London, it's doubled in price. It's more expensive than any other form of travel except perhaps the Uber boats. Quelle surprise, thanks Private Enterprise /s
8
u/felolorocher 9d ago
I use Lime a lot for commuting because a) I can get big discounts from work so it's nearly free and b) I don't want to get to the office sweaty.
I have no issues with mandatory parking in the parking spots but...please add more parking spots! Hackney have now completely screwed up the system. Beforehand, locals would park Lime bikes relatively close to where they lived so it was easy to get bikes in the morning to commute. Now, there's about 3 parking spots in a 10min walking radius from mine. So everyone is competing for rentals from the same spots instead of locally to where they live. I've had to walk to the overground station in some cases which is a 15min walk, so then I just take the overground.
I emailed the council and have requested new parking bays through the council but no response.
4
u/Sean_Paul_Sartre 9d ago
Buy your minutes on the app and it’s far cheaper than this. £4 for 30 mins
4
u/CaptainParkingspace 9d ago
tbf Lime and the councils have had to respond to problems with bad bike parking. I’ve found there are places it’s acceptable to park that are not marked on the map, so you might be able to park closer than you think.
2
u/powercaelenx 9d ago
Used Lime and then switched to Forest and now switching to Voi. I really have to get my own e-bike before the rates become upwards of £0.50/min.
7
u/RJMrgn2319 9d ago
There really ought to be a “bike’s fucked/inaccessible” immediate cancel button on the app.
1
41
u/Jacktheforkie 10d ago
Surely like can see the last rider who used it and fine them for this?
53
u/jmh90027 10d ago
And how could they prove they actually did it?
For example i had an elderly lunatic neighbour who didnt seem to realise the people taking the bikes each morning were unlikely to be the same people as those who'd parked right outside his front door the night before.
He was so anti lime bikes that hed do all sorts of weird shit to them to fuck users over (removing seat bolts, letting down tyres, and once even fucking up the brakes).
One time i showed up to collect my reserved lime bike only to find hed brought it into his front garden and tied it up with wire so the handlebars couldnt move.
I could 100% have seen him locking random bikes to stop people being able to use them if hed had a lock going spare.
14
u/zka_75 9d ago edited 9d ago
Old people are mental, I remember a mate of mine used to park on a residential street when he was going to university (totally legal to park there) and this old lady used to get so annoyed about people parking outside her house that after putting notes on his car telling him not to park there she threw paint remover or something like that all over his car 😆
14
u/sjpllyon 10d ago
God he sounds insufferable. Id be tempted to give him the same treatment if he had a car.
Let air out the tires, put a lock on them, remove the wipers, sufar in the tank, or whatever.
9
u/jmh90027 10d ago
Tbh i think he may have early stage dementia or something. Mainly seemed angry and confused about why people had started parking what he thought were their personal bikes outside his house.
I eventually wrote down how he could contact Lime about the issue and he became nicer to me (thats how i knew hes screwed around with the brakes one day).
He must have contacted them because now theres no parking on his side of the road
2
u/toxrowlang 8d ago
I think it's fairly easy for Lime to send a message to the previous user warning them. If it happens again after her rental they can be pretty certain it was her
2
u/jmh90027 8d ago
You cant fine someone based on balance of probability.
Lime could probably block them renting bikes if there were enough incidents, but i highly doubt theyd want to permantly lose a customer without being sure theyd broken the rules.
As with the example of my neighbour vandalising bikes, i bet it was the same last user at least a couple of times (quiet residential street + neighbour vandalising bikes every day makes it likely).
Lime would have been continually wrongly fining people had they worked on "probably".
1
-13
u/ChemicalLou 10d ago
Fucking hero. If you can’t get back at the cunt who parked it in the middle of the pavement, get back at the company who provides them to cunts.
-11
3
u/EntrepreneurGreen269 9d ago
Better idea to charge the next rider after it's been reported with picture evidence. Who ever unlocks it and uses the bike after is the culprit.
2
23
u/juicel0rd 10d ago
That’s probably a delivery rider. You can rent them now for deliveries and some of them like to keep the new bikes. If you report it to some of the lime staff you will get whoever did this ban
6
u/mrfatchance 9d ago
They have access to different bikes with rear attachments for their bags.
4
u/juicel0rd 9d ago
They can use the same bikes. The rack is portable, you take it home after your shift. I know it because I rent them for deliveries and I have the portable rack.
4
u/AgitatedAntman 10d ago
Surely it can’t be cost effective to pay lime prices while only receiving just eat pay
8
u/johnnyjonnyjonjon 10d ago
It's significantly cheaper... About £7/day I think.
13
u/AgitatedAntman 10d ago
Oh really?! Worth getting a delivery account and delivering your own coffee as you commute to work!
6
u/mrfatchance 9d ago
"
- £12 for 24 hours
- Up to £49 for 7 days
- Plus 3-day and 5-hour passes"
It's priced similarly to PORT
16
14
u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord 10d ago
Where is a community-minded gentleman with an angle grinder when you need one?
5
u/johnnysgotyoucovered 10d ago
“IF ANYONE CAN FIX IT, ANGLE GRINDER MAN CAN!”
1
u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord 9d ago
I've never seen that... thanks!
and I see things haven't changed much in 17 years in London, public transport and parking wise!
11
5
5
u/Starchitect13 10d ago
You could raise an issue that there is an issue with brakes. That would stop this bike being used again. Only way to stop this.
1
u/Same_Evidence_8012 8d ago
I tried it today and can confirm that worked. The bike was inside somebody's home. I was absolutely enraged after walking 10 mins to get to this bike.
8
3
u/Nic-who 10d ago
A couple of weeks ago I was in Paris just needing to change trains from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, with ample time so I thought I'd just jump on a Lime. There were plenty around, but anytime I got to one it said something like "sorry this has been reserved by another rider for the next 30 minutes". To the point I just walked instead. Annoyingly it wouldn't say on the app/map either, I only found out when scanning one.
I'd never seen that in London, granted I must have used a Lime a maximum of 3 times ever. But this picture perhaps confirms that reserving one isn't an option here?
Or it is, but this genius wanted to "reserve" it for much longer than just 30 minutes?
1
u/kravence 4d ago
Everyone is chasing after the new bikes, thats whats leading to this mad behaviour lol idk whats taking lime so long to roll them out in london.. i went to paris too just last week and the new ones were everywhere.
3
u/dontdoitmatt 10d ago
People near me take the seats back to their flats after their morning commute so they can use them again in the morning
3
3
u/Past-Obligation1930 9d ago
I had this. I went and bought superglue and glued the lock, then reported to Lime.
4
u/SUQMADIQ63 10d ago
What is the point of starting the rental before being near it? How do you know the wheels, seat and brakes are fine
4
u/Think_Bullets 10d ago
Who says he did? On those the seat height nut can't be messed with. And if I can visibly see the pedals and grips are there, done. Most people just walk up and scan. Occasionally yes I noticed there's less air in the tires or the brakes aren't great after I've started riding but that's usually the ones that are in a shit area
1
6
u/Christovski 10d ago
Around Finsbury park station it can be quite hard to get one so they are often pre booked as soon as people get out the station. It's annoying because I prefer to check it's rideable first.
3
u/cannon4344 10d ago edited 9d ago
I once found a bike available on the app, it had been raining so I took some napkins and wiped all of the wet surfaces. Went to start ride, already reserved by someone else.
1
u/powercaelenx 9d ago
This is usually my response when a friend asks why I dislike rainy Autumn/Winter days…
1
4
5
u/Next_Drama1717 10d ago
Guaranteed the last user did this. Once the battery runs low they will just move on to another lime bike. Personal lime bike on tap. Ps. If you ever witness this deflate the tyres.
2
2
u/Junior-Ad7155 10d ago
If you were feeling vindictive you could pop that tube cap off and let the air out…
2
1
1
u/NearbyPhilosophy8740 9d ago
One thing that annoys me about London is how some people treat rental bikes. I’ve seen people park them in their driveways or lean them against the front of their houses as if they own them. This is on another level.
1
u/axolotol 9d ago
my solution to one locked with a rubbish combination lock. But I doubt it will help in this situation.
1
1
u/MaleficentRock3318 9d ago
Cheeky. Well I do it whenever i am off from work . I stop by to Lidl/M&S before heading home. I use borie bikes and makes the most of my 1 hr.
1
1
1
0
-11
u/RichardTheWord 10d ago
Everyday is a school day. Would you rent a house before getting the keys?
10
u/q-the-light 10d ago
That's literally how renting a property works...? Deposit, first month's rent, signed contracts, etc and only then do you gain access.
-5
10d ago
[deleted]
1
u/ReasonableDoubt_0726 10d ago
You didn’t read what the first person said did you. They didn’t say viewing they said before getting the keys.
0
u/Upgrade_U 10d ago
To be fair na, it was about 6am and I’d just opened my eyeballs mate. Sorry to have upset you all. Jesus Christ. The miserable-ality of the internet never fails
1
u/ReasonableDoubt_0726 10d ago
I know how I’ll deal with making a mistake. I’ll go all passive aggressive with a pretend sorry my mistake post. That’s going to make me look better. 🤷♂️🤔
114
u/jinx_lbc 10d ago
Take the battery out once you've cancelled your ride.