Visitors put off by e-bikes in Coventry, group says

The number of e-bikes in Coventry has risen due in part to more delivery firms using them, a business group said

A rising use of electric bikes in a city centre is putting off people from visiting the area, a business groups says.

Areas for pedestrians in Coventry are being "infiltrated" by e-bike riders, the city's Business Improvement District (BID) said.

The group was responding to a consultation by the city council.

A crackdown in reaction to complaints about e-bikes was planned, the authority said.

A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is in place in the city centre banning activities including begging and inconsiderate skating and cycling.

The order runs out on 16 July and the authority's cabinet will decide on Tuesday if it wants to extend it for another three years.

The number of e-bikes being used in the city centre is increasing due in part to their use by food delivery firms, Lyndsay Smith, from the BID, said.

"This has resulted in pedestrianised areas being infiltrated by e-bike riders," she added.

There have also been more interactions between them and vulnerable road users and the group said it supported any measure to reduce a risk of injury.

"It has been highlighted that e-bike incidents heavily contribute to the reasons why some of Coventry's residents feel reluctant to visit the city centre to shop," Ms Smith added.

A Public Spaces Protection Order covering Coventry's city centre is due to expire in July

In a report for the cabinet, the manager of the council's city centre enforcement officers said dealing with the e-bikes was not easy.

With officers on foot, Simon Hutt said it was hard to tackle e-bikes being ridden at high speed, but added they were working with police to solve this.

Conditions in the current PSPO can be used to crack down on poor use of e-bikes, the authority said, and added there would soon be a communication campaign.

Illegal e-bikes would also be seized and disposed of, it added.