Would rental e-bike users be more likely to stop at red lights if they were charged according to distance travelled, rather than time? That’s one of the ideas the government is considering as it works out how to regulate Lime, Forest, Voi, and the other operators that have appeared in London over the last decade.

Ministers say they’re aware that the current pricing system, where people pay to rent a bike by the minute, might be encouraging “poor or unsafe” riding that puts riders and pedestrians at risk. They’re also looking at whether it encourages bad parking due to people in a hurry leaving e-bikes blocking pavements. One solution under consideration is that e-bike users should be given free minutes to cover ‘idle time’ spent waiting at red lights. The problem is that a switch to distance-based pricing could undermine the private operators’ profitable business model, which relies on maximising the revenue per bike.