Coventry Council’s E-Bike ban rules look to be getting firmer

Credit : Oscar Mucyo

The banning of E-Bikes and Scooter from Coventry city center is said to see a step up in enforcement from the council after it was first introduced two weeks ago. This was done so that e-bikes and e-scooters would no longer be ridden in the pedestrian areas of the city center after concerns have been raised by shoppers and other visitors

The council will now work with police in order to further enforce the rule, and have reportedly seen a number of improvements with bikers dismounting once they have been asked. Later in the month there will supposedly be a more intensive operation in hopes of completely addressing the issue.

This is because despite the fact that the rules have already shown results, the council still believes there is more that can be done. Councilor Abdul Salam Khan said “There has been an indication that the message is getting across to riders. But enforcement action will be increasing. It is a partnership effort, all with the aim of protecting pedestrians in the city centre” In a statement to Coventry city council. He also added that there will be further clamp downs on reckless behavior on both manual and electronic bikes and scooters.

We then asked the residents of Coventry what they thought about the implementation of these new rules. Some residents found this controversial, for example We spoke to 22 year old Callum who told us ‘It’s not right for them to take it away… It’s not a massive issue so just get rid of the people who are messing about on them and leave the rest. Some people make their livings off this” he told us further going on to explain that  delivery drivers rely on using those routes in order to get their food to people on time.

18 year old Anya also told us “if it makes peoples food late then maybe they should just ban non delivery bikes instead of all of them” joking that she had also “noticed my Uber Eats was taking longer”. It’s clear that the decision is controversial around some residents, however this is mostly because of the effect it has on delivery drivers.

Although some residents agreed with the change, with 32 year old Manon saying “its scary when the bikes come down those slopes fast, honestly it’s scary” saying that she was in support of the change and hoped that eventually they would get rid of all the E-bikes from the city centre.

However, whether controvertial or not the change is here to stay, and its enforcement will only be stronger as the council gears up to completely eliminate e-bikes and e-scooters from the cities centre.