‘Strikelists’ use ‘cruel trick’ to bagsy Lime Bikes in scramble to get to work

In a desperate battle to get to work during Tube strikes, some Londoners have sunk to new lows and are keeping Lime Bike pedals to make sure they can bagsy them in the morning.

As the London Underground strikes enter it’s third morning, commuters are now having to contend with bikes missing pedals on top of gridlocked traffic and packed trains.

One Reddit account said: ‘With the chaos of transport this week in London, I’m noticing a massive increase in Lime Bikes missing a pedal.

‘Are people taking these off, keeping them, and screwing them back on in the morning so they have a guaranteed bike to commute?’

One Londoner said: ‘Found five in a row this morning with no pedals. It has to be that?’

This is not the only trick used to try and reserve an e-bike, with many people parking them in hedges and even living rooms to deter others from using them.

But it is possible to report deliberately hidden bikes on the app.

Metro has approached Lime for comment.

For some Londoners this week marks the first time they have hopped on one of city’s many e-bikes.

Lime said it has seen a 58% increase in demand for the e-bikes since the strike started.

The new cyclists have been dubbed ‘strikelists’ – the riders who only dust off the pedals, or hop on a Lime bike for the first time ever, when the city shuts down.

There have also been reports of riders jumping red lights, leaving some cyclists concerned for their safety.

Londoner Emily Shackleton told Metro there were ‘swarms of people’ on Lime bikes.

‘There was a lot of dodgy behaviour such as undertaking, people wearing headphones, I even saw someone talking on Facetime holding their phone out in front of them while speeding downhill,’ she said.

‘I lost count of the times I had to stop suddenly as someone cut in front in me and or suddenly swerved across me.

‘While it’s great to see people taking up cycling as a commuting alternative especially on strike days, lack of care and basic knowledge of road safety as well as the increased numbers on the road made a usually simple commute feel incredibly unsafe.’

London was brought to a standstill on Monday and Tuesday, and the Elizabeth line and buses were overwhelmed when the members of the RMT union started their strike action on the Tube.

Commuters reported crowding on the Elizabeth line, which remains open, busy taxis and Ubers being unavailable, plus gridlocked roads.

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