E-bike and cycling campaigners call out "one-sided" coverage of e-bike pavement parking
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
Cycling campaigners have criticised the BBC for publishing a “one-sided” report on e-bike pavement parking that blamed riders while overlooking other pedestrian hazards.
The campaigners said the article focused on hire bike users making pavements harder to navigate by abandoning e-bikes, ignoring ssues such as cars mounting pavements, wheelie bins and future charging points.
The original report centred on Colchester resident Paul Horwood, who said parked Dott e-bikes made pavements difficult for him and his wife to use.
He told the BBC: “This newest idea is good in theory but it seems a lot of the people using them are being irresponsible in the way they just abandon them with no consideration for others.”
Horwood also called for enforcement action against users who leave bikes obstructing walkways.
Campaigners said the story relied almost entirely on his testimony and did not reflect the wider street environment faced by pedestrians.
A Colchester Cycling Campaign spokesperson said: “This story was one sided and didn’t include the perils to pedestrians from cars mounting footways, as well as wheelie bins and — to come — car charging points.”
They added users must photograph how they leave bikes and claimed some obstructions result from vandalism rather than poor parking.
The Department for Transport said pavement-blocking e-bikes are a genuine safety risk and new legislation will give councils stronger powers to regulate shared schemes.
Colchester City Council urged residents to report obstructing bikes directly to the operator so they can be moved quickly.
The BBC has been previously admonished for inaccurate reporting by cycling bodies, including by the E-bike Positive campaign; a UK-wide initiative, now run jointly by the ACT and the Bicycle Association, that is designed to improve public understanding of e-bikes, highlight their benefits for sustainable transport, and challenge negative perceptions particularly in mainstream media.
For more information on the E-Bike Positive campaign, click here.