Lime helps police track down careless cyclist who swore at pedestrian

An e-bike rider has been fined and permanently banned after the police and Lime collaborated to track him down after he swore at a pedestrian.

The cyclist was caught riding on the wrong side of Fleet Street in central London on 31 July after swerving into oncoming traffic during roadworks.

Faced with an approaching bus, the rider mounted the pavement and weaved erratically through pedestrians.

When a woman walking along the footway challenged his riding, he turned away from the road to make an offensive hand gesture at her before riding off.

The pedestrian later reported the encounter to City of London Police, providing the precise time and location of the incident.

Officers combed through local CCTV footage to verify the account before handing the timestamped location data to Lime, which was able to use its internal tracking systems to identify the specific bike and its rider.

The cyclist was invited to a police station, where he accepted a fine for careless cycling and apologised to the woman for his conduct. Lime independently issued a permanent ban preventing him from using their platform in the future.

Sergeant Stuart Ford, cycling team lead for the City of London Police, said: "The fact that we were able to identify this rider with the help of Lime demonstrates what can be achieved when we combine our extensive CCTV network with technology and information held by our partners.”

He noted while the offence was relatively low-level, addressing everyday anti-social behaviour remains crucial to public confidence in policing.

"This incident was a real-world encounter in which a pedestrian was forced to take evasive action and then subjected to an offensive gesture," Sgt Ford added, citing the force's safer city streets initiative, aimed at maintaining street safety.

Alice Pleasant, UK deputy regional head for government relations at Lime, confirmed the e-bike company followed established legal and privacy protocols in responding to the police request.

"Safety is fundamental to Lime's service in London, and we do not tolerate behaviour that puts pedestrians or other road users at risk," she added, emphasising the company took independent action to permanently ban the rider.