Every day across the UK, rental e-bikes and e-scooters are dumped across pavements, dropped kerbs, and pedestrian crossings. Personal e-bikes are often left in the same way.

For many people this is more than an inconvenience. It makes streets unusable.

Wheelchair users, mobility scooter users, blind and partially sighted pedestrians, guide dog owners, and elderly residents are often the people who suffer most. When a bike blocks a dropped kerb or tactile paving, the only alternative is often to enter the road.

The scale of the problem is growing as dockless bike schemes expand across British cities. Tens of thousands of rental e-bikes now operate nationwide, yet enforcement has not kept pace.

According to the Royal National Institute of Blind People, 1 in 8 blind or partially sighted people reported colliding with a dockless hire bike within a three-month period. Disability groups have repeatedly warned that poorly parked bikes are becoming a serious accessibility hazard.

Despite this, there are almost no meaningful consequences for irresponsible parking.

Operators such as Lime, Voi Technology, and Forest are required to rebalance badly parked bikes under local licensing agreements, but penalties for failing to do so are weak and rarely enforced. Meanwhile, individual riders who abandon bikes across pavements, ramps, and doorways typically face no penalty at all.

Blocking accessible infrastructure is not a minor issue. Dropped kerbs, tactile paving, and clear pavements are essential accessibility features. When they are obstructed, disabled people are effectively excluded from public space.

Motorists who block pavements or dropped kerbs can already receive fines. The same principle should apply to e-bikes and e-scooters.

We call on the Department for Transport to introduce statutory mandatory fines for:

1. Rental e-bike and e-scooter operators whose vehicles are found obstructing public rights of way, dropped kerbs, tactile paving, or other accessible pedestrian infrastructure.
2. Individual riders, whether using rental or privately owned e-bikes and e-scooters, who deliberately or negligently park their vehicle in a way that blocks a pavement, dropped kerb, or accessible pedestrian route.

Dockless bikes can play a role in urban transport, but accessibility must come first.

No one should be forced into the road because a bike has been dumped across the pavement. It is time to make operators and riders accountable.

Visit blockedpath.com for more detail.