Voi Defiant Over Refusal to Withdraw from Ealing Borough
Claims there are no legal grounds for it to be excluded from operating
Voi currently has no formal arrangement to provide a service locally
September 8, 2026
E-bike rental company Voi has defended its decision to continue operating in a West London borough despite missing out on a new contract to operate there.
Earlier this year, Ealing Council jointly awarded e-bike contracts to Forest and Lime following an informal procurement process. Voi was the only company not to be awarded a contract – but is now refusing to end its Ealing operation citing several concerns with the process.
A company spokesperson said they believe there are no grounds for them to be excluded from the borough.
Often when choosing a company or operator to undertake a council contract, a formal procurement process is held – often costly and time consuming. Instead, Ealing Council chose to agree a ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ or MOU with e-bike operators, in line with most London boroughs.
It was assumed that having lost out on the contract, Voi would leave the borough – but now the company is calling foul. It is because the council used this informal process that it now has no legal basis to force Voi out.
While Forest and Lime are paying Ealing Council a contractual fee to operate in the borough, Voi are understood to be operating without needing to pay any fee. Voi also continues to occupy e-bike spaces that Forest and Lime would otherwise be using throughout the borough.
A spokesperson for Voi told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that it had raised concerns with Ealing Council during the MOU process about the way it was being handled. They added: “In a letter to Ealing on 24 April 2026, submitted alongside our formal response to the council’s call for submissions, we said that running what amounted to a ‘mini-procurement’ exercise, without published scoring or clear criteria, wasn’t a robust basis for excluding any operator from the borough.
“We proposed a tiered model instead, similar to the one working well in Lambeth and elsewhere – where every provider active at scale in London has a route into the borough. We made that case as the operator with, on paper, the strongest compliance record in Ealing – and the only one sharing live data with the council throughout the previous MoU term.
“We could have argued that Ealing should simply pick Voi on that basis. Instead we asked the council to use the process to improve governance: clearer rules, better data for officers, and a more competitive service for residents – not to exclude an operator. That remains our position.”
When asked why the company is continuing to operate, despite losing out on a contract, a Voi spokesperson said, “There is no statutory licensing regime that requires a council’s permission to operate dockless e-bikes on the public highway, and we do not believe that the selection process used gives the council grounds to exclude a compliant operator.
“Neither, within this context, do we believe it to be fair to Ealing residents that Voi’s removal would deprive them of the cheapest per-minute dockless e-bike rental service in London – Voi charges 27p a minute with no unlock fee, compared with 33p a minute plus a £1 unlock fee for both Lime and Forest.
“That said, we’d much rather be operating in Ealing under a formal agreement – it would give officers greater oversight and it’s better for the borough’s finances – and we’ve told the council that directly. We remain open to resolving this constructively, but have written to the council three times with detailed concerns about this process that have not been acknowledged.
“In the absence of a formal agreement, we will operate in Ealing in accordance with the borough’s own e-bike enforcement procedure.”
The other e-bike operators are understood to be unhappy about the situation and are calling on Ealing Council to act but it is not clear what sanctions it can apply.
Ealing Council was asked to confirm whether it would publish the scoring methodology and whether financial contributions had an undue influence on the outcome as has been claimed by Voi. A council spokesperson said: “The council has followed a process of agreeing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with e-bike operators, in line with a majority of London boroughs. Until the Devolution Bill enables local licensing of e-bike schemes, boroughs are continuing with established arrangements, and awaiting the proposed pan-London contract to be operated by TfL.
“The council adopted its e-bike enforcement policy in February 2026 and is taking action in line with this procedure, including issuing fines and sanctions for obstructions of the public highway. We cannot comment on live discussions taking place with any operators.”
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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