Bolt has claimed its rivals are moving their e-bikes out of designated bays in a bid to get them impounded.
The London e-bike firm has accused competitors of moving their bikes in the middle of the night.
It comes after ‘repeated instances’ of the vehicles being correctly parked, only for them to be found relocated outside of designated zones in Kensington and Chelsea.
This allows the council to seize the bikes and enforce a £84.45 fine plus an £11.25 daily storage fee, as well as putting the bike out of action.
The company, which has 600 bikes in the borough, faces competition from their rivals Lime, Forest and Voi, which also operate in the area.
Since January 2025, more than 1,500 rental e-bikes from the four operators have been impounded, with more than £130,000 handed out in fines.
There are currently 246 rental e-bike parking bays in the borough, with the total fleet size thought to be in the thousands.
Bolt, which launched in Kensington & Chelsea last summer, has shared a dossier that includes alleged ‘before and after’ images of their bikes being moved.
One image taken by a Bolt rider who was ending their journey shows the bike parked in a designated bay, but in a second photo taken by council officers, it can be seen outside the permitted zone, which has been filled with rival bikes.
One image taken by a Bolt rider who was ending their journey shows the bike parked in a designated bay, but in a second photo taken by council officers, it can be seen outside the permitted zone, which has been filled with rival bikes
A Bolt bike is pictured within a bay in Walton Place, Knightsbridge
A photo from the council shows the same e-bike on the pavement obstructing the way for pedestrians
In another case, a Bolt bike is pictured within a bay in Walton Place, Knightsbridge, but a photo from the council shows it on the pavement obstructing the way for pedestrians.
The bikes are believed to have been moved out of their bays late at night by staff members of the rival companies who come to clean up the bays or put out more bikes.
‘We’ve recorded repeated instances in Kensington & Chelsea where Bolt e-bikes that were parked correctly inside designated bays are later found outside them,’ John Buckley, a Bolt executive, said.
‘In several cases, our bikes appear to have been moved shortly after a trip ended, and are then surrounded by large numbers of bikes from other operators.’
He added that the company ‘believe this is driven by significant overdeployment by other operators sharing the same parking infrastructure’.
‘When bays become filled beyond capacity, bikes are displaced and moved, creating enforcement issues for compliant operators,’ Mr Buckley said.
‘That’s not fair on residents who’ve parked properly, and it’s not fair on operators who are sticking to the rules.
The bikes are believed to have been moved out of their bays late at night by staff members of the rival companies
Bolt claims rival companies are coming under the cover of darkness to clean up the bays or put out more bikes
‘Parking caps only work if everyone respects them.’ Forest claimed they also have instances where images taken by customers did not match those provided by council enforcement officers.
Alex Berwin, head of policy at Forest, said its policy is that staff ‘must never’ move bikes that belong to other operators.
He added: ‘We have raised this discrepancy with the relevant boroughs on multiple occasions, as it is important that enforcement processes are accurate and evidence-based.’
A Voi spokesperson also claims they have evidence of their vehicles being moved and say they have reported it to Transport for London, council boroughs and made complaints directly to other e-bike companies on multiple occasions.
‘Our focus is on being a responsible operator that delivers a service which works for riders and non-riders alike,’ the spokesperson said.
‘We have seen repeated examples of properly parked Voi vehicles being shifted into unsuitable locations over the past three years, which we have reported to Transport for London, boroughs and other operators directly.
‘The key driver of this issue is that certain operators are putting more vehicles on the street than permitted.’
A spokesperson for Lime claimed that due to Lime holding 17 contracts across London compared to Bolt’s one, its ‘popularity can create pressure on parking bays, with users sometimes moving idle bikes to make space for their own’.
‘All these photos show is that Bolt bikes are being used less frequently and likely being moved by riders to access other vehicles,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Lime does not instruct its on-street teams to overdeploy in parking bays, nor to move the bikes of other operators. Any instance of this occurring should be reported to Lime with the time and location so that we can investigate accordingly.
‘Bays can become overcrowded and filled beyond capacity – but this is driven by riders and due to Lime’s popularity, especially in busy, high traffic areas.
‘We have an on-street team of over 400 working across London whose job is to ensure our bikes are always available where they’re needed most, while keeping busy areas clear and accessible.’
Mr Buckley said that Bolt is calling for ‘closer oversight and enforcement to ensure that parking caps are respected by all operators’.
He said: ‘We’ve deliberately taken a responsible and cautious approach in Kensington and Chelsea, going beyond industry practice.
‘Our app won’t allow riders to end a trip if a bay is already full, we limit how many bikes we deploy, and we have local patrollers repositioning bikes throughout the day. We also provide the borough with transparent, real-time data on every Bolt e-bike.
‘Our focus is on keeping pavements clear, supporting residents, and ensuring the scheme works fairly for everyone.’
Councillor Johnny Thalassites, lead member for environment and planning at Kensington & Chelsea Council, said: ‘Our priority is ensuring our pavements are safe and accessible for everyone, and we make no apologies for our enforcement policy.
‘If an e-bike is causing an obstruction or parked dangerously, we will remove it, regardless of which operator it belongs to or how it ended up there.
‘While allegations of “turf wars” and sabotage are matters for the operators to resolve among themselves, they highlight the chaotic nature of the current market where some operators are flooding our borough with more bikes than our agreed parking bays can accommodate.
‘Long term, we need a solution from Government about how the demand and operations are managed by the providers.’