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TikTokers person been making videos astir however to bargain batteries from Lime e-bikes to marque upgrades to their ain pedal bicycles.
Several posts connected the societal media app archer viewers however to region the batteries from the fashionable electrical bikes, disposable to rent retired successful cities crossed the UK, and get astir their information features.
The bikes - which are stored retired connected the street, astir the timepiece - are powered by lithium-ion batteries, stored successful a lawsuit glued to the frame.
Some criminals are taking the batteries to merchantability online - they are worthy up to £300, experts person said.
Others, having stolen an costly battery, usage inexpensive conversion kits - not governed by information regulations - to marque their pedal bicycle electrical for a debased price.
Giuseppe Capanna, a merchandise information technologist astatine foundation Electrical Safety First, said determination is simply a 'real risk' that modified e-bike batteries could drawback occurrence from overcharging.
He told the Times: 'The fires are perfectly ferocious. You volition person seconds to get retired of the building.'
TikTok has present removed the videos since quality of them emerged, saying they violated assemblage guidelines connected unit and criminality.
TikTokers person been making videos (pictured) astir however to bargain batteries from Lime e-bikes to marque upgrades to their ain pedal bicycles
Several posts (pictured) connected the societal media app archer viewers however to region the batteries from the fashionable electrical bikes, disposable to rent retired successful cities crossed the UK, and get astir their information features
The bikes - which are stored retired connected the street, astir the timepiece - are powered by lithium-ion batteries, stored successful a lawsuit glued to the frame. Pictured: One of the videos successful question
One clip shows idiosyncratic making what they dubbed a 'DIY e-bike' utilizing a stolen Lime battery. Alongside laughing emojis, it is captioned: 'I anticipation I don't stroke up my house.'
Another video - besides showing a souped-up pedal motorcycle and racking up much than 85,000 views - saw users caput to the comments conception to stock their ain experiences of stealing Lime batteries.
One admitted they had astir 40 of them - portion different warned prospective artillery thieves to complaint them extracurricular arsenic they tin 'blow up easy'.
Lime, estimated to person astir 30,000 rental e-bikes successful London, is 1 of the biggest players successful the assemblage successful the superior - and has since expanded to Manchester, Nottingham, Derby and Milton Keynes.
But it is surely not the lone rental e-bike supplier besieged by artillery theft.
Forest, which runs crossed 14 of London's 33 boroughs to Lime's 17, saw astir 10 artillery thefts each period past year.
This comes contempt them installing a 'thick glue which forms a cake-like substance' astir the artillery lawsuit to halt radical getting into it.
Swedish institution Voi - which runs successful much than 100 locations crossed Europe, astir 20 of which are successful the UK - said much than 700 batteries were stolen from their e-scooters successful Liverpool 2 years ago.
Some criminals are taking the batteries to merchantability online - they are worthy up to £300, experts person said. Pictured: File photo
Others, having stolen an costly battery, usage inexpensive conversion kits - not governed by information regulations - to marque their pedal bicycle electrical for a debased price. Pictured: File photo
Giuseppe Capanna, a merchandise information technologist astatine foundation Electrical Safety First, said determination is simply a 'real risk' that modified e-bike batteries could drawback occurrence from overcharging. Pictured: File photograph of a Lime motorcycle successful Oxford Circus, cardinal London
It outgo the concern much than £500,000.
But the manufacture would beryllium adjacent harder deed by wide theft of e-bike batteries, often much costly and much almighty than those successful e-scooters similar Voi's.
Ben Hubbard, who edits Zag Daily, which reports connected sustainable mobility, said theft of 'highly valuable' batteries has go 'a overmuch much organised and calculated challenge' for each UK rental e-bike operators successful caller years.
Reports of artillery theft request to beryllium followed done and pb to convictions, helium added, to halt radical reasoning it is simply a 'free-for-all'.
Campaigners privation e-bike batteries and conversion kits to beryllium much regulated - portion the London Fire Brigade has said radical should not bargain secondhand batteries.
It comes aft MailOnline revealed arsenic galore arsenic 300 Lime bikes are being illegally hacked successful London each week.
Tens of thousands of young Londoners are thought to person worked retired however to instrumentality a Lime without registering oregon paying - which is known arsenic 'hacking'.
Lime ain and run astir of the estimated 30,000 bikes present successful London, and with arsenic galore arsenic 1 per cent of these having been hacked astatine immoderate 1 time, that means up to 300 vehicles person been rogue connected the city's streets.
A assemblage of caller images assembled by MailOnline shows however often the branded e-bikes person been dumped successful locations that marque them a menace for pedestrians oregon a information to motorists
Many of the dumped bikes, near strewn crossed cities crossed the country, are thought to person been hacked
One idiosyncratic posted connected X an representation of a Lime motorcycle abandoned successful the Leg of Mutton Pond successful Bushy Park, Richmond, London
Hacked bikes are efficaciously stolen from the institution - meaning it has nary cognition of who is utilizing them and nary power implicit wherever they extremity up being left.
A assemblage of caller images assembled by MailOnline shows however often the e-bikes person been dumped successful locations that marque them a menace for pedestrians oregon a information to motorists.
Many of the dumped bikes, near strewn crossed our capital's pavements, are thought to person been hacked.
While the institution fines users who parkland successful an unacceptable way, it has nary power implicit hacker riders, who look nary specified disincentive.
The bikes enactment utilizing an app and outgo a level interest to unlock and past a further magnitude based connected however agelong they are ridden for.
But arsenic they are 'dockless', riders tin register, wage and unlock a motorcycle and thrust disconnected to their destination - wherever though Lime encourages them to usage designated bays oregon parkland responsibly, galore bash not travel this advice.
According to Lime much than 4 cardinal Londoners person chosen their bikes since they were launched successful 2018, and 16million commuting journeys were made connected them past twelvemonth alone.
Half of Londoners aged 18-34 usage the bikes connected a play basis.
Lime bikes prevarication scattered chaotically crossed the pavement successful Charlton, London with nary thought for pedestrians, wheelchair users oregon parents with prams
Lime bikes wholly artifact the pavement, successful a shocking representation posted by Westminster City Council
While the institution fines users who parkland successful an unacceptable way, it has nary power implicit hacker riders, who look nary specified disincentive. Pictured: An X station astir a 'hacked' Lime motorcycle dumped successful Kings Cross, London
A spokesperson for Lime said: 'Stolen batteries relationship for lone a tiny fraction of our full inventory, and we person nary grounds of our batteries being utilized to powerfulness idiosyncratic bikes.
'We powerfully condemn immoderate transgression behaviour and study immoderate known instances of artillery theft to the police.'
Previously, they said: 'Antisocial behaviour is uncommon and hacked trips present relationship for 1% of full trips.
'We are committed to addressing immoderate instances of antisocial behaviour, arsenic this is not however we mean our work to beryllium used.
'While astir users thrust responsibly, we promote the nationalist to study immoderate instances of antisocial behaviour to us, including the determination and time, truthful we tin analyse and instrumentality due measures.'
The Department for Transport and Transport for London referred MailOnline to section councils erstwhile asked what was being done to support pavements wide of e-bikes.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'Local authorities already person powers to region e-cycles from pavements wherever they are causing an obstruction and are liable for moving with rental operators to support pavements wide wherever possible.'
Lime and TikTok were contacted for comment.
THE BOSSES BEHIND LIME BIKES BLIGHTING BRITAIN'S STREETS
Lime Bike’s UK cognition is headed by a privately educated postgraduate who is the lad of person and erstwhile concern spouse of Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson.
Hal Stevenson, 29, antecedently concisely worked for past Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s operations squad readying events successful people seats successful the tally up to the Conservative’s palmy run successful 2019.
He took connected the relation aft moving arsenic a researcher and aft leaving went connected to go a elder enforcement astatine a large PR steadfast whose clients included the e-bike firm.
Founded successful the US and headed by Harvard-educated main enforcement Wayne Ting - the UK limb of the cognition is headed by tech-savvy millennials successful ‘early-stage careers’.
According to his LinkedIn account, Stevenson was hired by Lime arsenic a nationalist matter manager successful October 2020 earlier being promoted to elder nationalist affairs manager past appointed manager of argumentation for UK and Ireland successful September 2023.
He describes his relation arsenic having ‘responsibility for launching, expanding and maintaining services crossed the region’.
Stevenson, who has 2 brothers and a sister, grew up successful a ample location successful the Oxfordshire countryside and was educated astatine £23,000-a-year Magdalen College School successful Oxford.
Founded successful 1480, the school's celebrated alumni see Skyfall manager Sam Mendes, sports presenter Jim Rosenthal and Bridgerton prima Jonathan Bailey arsenic good arsenic Meghan Markle’s person and biographer Omid Scobie.
He went connected to get a 2:1 successful Politics astatine Durham University successful 2017.
Stevenson’s begetter Hamish founded Fast Track successful 1997, with the backing of Sir Richard Branson.
The steadfast tracked the advancement of Britain's fastest-growing unquoted companies and published yearly league tables for much than 25 years earlier closing successful 2021.
He describes himself arsenic an entrepreneur and an ‘angel investor’ successful a fig of task superior funds and early-stage companies.
Hal’s parent is Kay Langdale, 61, a erstwhile copywriter who began penning romanticist novels erstwhile her children were astatine school.
Working alongside Stevenson successful London is Imaan Williams who is operations manager astatine the immense ‘sustainably-designed’ mega-depot the steadfast precocious opened successful Tottenham, northbound London which is the largest of its benignant successful Europe.
She precocious explained however information plays a cardinal relation successful operating the UK limb of the steadfast known arsenic Lime Technology Ltd which made £63.5million successful turnover successful 2023 - a immense summation connected the firm's £20.2million turnover the erstwhile year.
Ms Williams, who gained a grade successful Geography and International Development astatine the University of Sussex, had antecedently worked arsenic a transportation operations manager astatine Amazon aft starting retired successful 2016 arsenic a transportation pricing intern astatine PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) past joining the Sky get Into Tech programme.
Meanwhile the firm's wide manager Kaan Tas claims helium has helped make accelerated maturation successful the steadfast arsenic it went connected to found itself arsenic marketplace leader.
Mr Taas, who is primitively from Turkey, gained a MSc successful operation absorption astatine the University of Reading.
Before joining Lime arsenic operations manager successful 2021, helium 'spearheaded AI-driven strategies' astatine 'a cutting-edge spot concern platform'.
Prior to that helium worked arsenic a task manager astatine edifice and hospitality level OYO.
Also based successful London is Manish Kharel who is Lime’s caput of planetary pilots - tasked with increasing operations astatine the firm.
According to his LinkedIn leafage his extremity is ‘to marque convenient, affordable and environmentally affable short-distance proscription a world crossed the UK’.
Mr Kharel, who has a BSc successful chemistry from Warwick University, besides antecedently worked astatine PwC. Starting disconnected arsenic a absorption consulting subordinate helium went connected to go a elder subordinate earlier joining Lime arsenic a elder operations manager successful July 2021.
He went connected to go operations manager earlier taking connected his latest relation successful which helium says his squad plan and execute ‘experiments’ to trial latest innovations crossed the world.
Lime’s UK cognition is overseen by a European director, Brussels based erstwhile concern expert Romain Dekeyser, who is the firm’s determination manager successful complaint of Northern Europe arsenic good arsenic Australia and New Zealand.
As good arsenic the UK and Ireland helium oversees operations successful Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The institution is keen to beforehand its greenish credentials and ngo ‘to physique a aboriginal wherever proscription is shared, affordable and carbon-free’.
Mr Ting, 41, precocious deed backmost astatine complaints astir his e-bikes being abandoned connected pavements.
Announcing a £20million concern successful London successful January helium told of his hopes that the superior volition go ‘another Amsterdam’
Mr Ting, who is main enforcement of San Francisco based Neutron Holdings Inc which trades nether the sanction Lime, said: ‘While request has surged, infrastructure and our quality to guarantee riders ever person determination to parkland safely and considerately has not kept pace, starring to parking challenges crossed our industry.’
He said helium wants Lime to proceed to ‘work collaboratively with boroughs and Transport for London’ which is owed to get powers from the Government to acceptable London-wide rules for e-bike firms, to tackle parking problems.
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