One of the biggest rivals to e-bike rental company Lime is under investigation over claims it has misled consumers by saying its services can be accessed for free.
London-based Forest, formerly known as Human Forest, is understood to be facing a probe from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after it received complaints that the e-bike hire operator has been telling consumers that they can access the bikes for free for 10 minutes a day, despite still requiring unlock fees. The probe was first reported by fledgling media outlet London Centric.
The UK advertising regulator is investigating e-bike rental company Forest over claims it has misled consumers by claiming its services can be accessed for free.
Forest charges 29p per minute of use for its bikes, however, in an effort to entice users, allows the first 10 minutes of a customer’s first ride of the day to be free of charge. However, those using the service for 10 minutes will still have to pay an unlock fee and a flat service fee of £1.90.
A spokesperson for Forest told UKTN that for customers accessing its bikes on a “pay as you go basis”, the “daily service fee and unlock fee” are “well communicated at sign up and via the app”.
The bikes themselves have signs attached advertising the bikes can be used for “10 minutes free daily”, with a sticker of a lime – representing competitor e-bike hire company Lime Micromobility – with the message “10 minutes: £2.90”.
The spokesperson added that many of the group’s users access the bikes “via bundles where users are not charged an unlock or daily service fee”.
Users can purchase bundles starting at 30 minutes for £3, valid for 24 hours and across multiple rides.
Launched in 2020 as Human Forest, the company has raised over £20m from investors, most recently from its £17m Series A in 2023.
The group, which operates in London, was founded as a cheaper alternative to Lime that also emphasises sustainability. The company claims it is the “only shared e-bike in London to have a zero-emissions fleet”.
In September, Forest announced in a blog post it had surpassed one million registered users. In the same post, it said it had “sacrificed £11m” for the sake of its daily 10 minutes of free use since launch.
“Our 10 free minutes of riding every day is a unique, unwavering and unmatched identifier of the Forest brand and our mission. It’s something we’ve offered riders since day one so we wanted to shout about how far we’ve come,” said Forest co-founder and CEO Agustin Guilisasti.
“The shared e-bike market in London is booming, so we could easily just charge the same as our competitor and be better off as a business by now. We’ve made a conscious decision not to do this, as it is and will always be our mission to make zero emission travel actually affordable for Londoners.”
Though there has been significant adoption of e-bike rentals in London, many in the city have expressed frustration at discarded bicycles clogging up the streets. In 2022, a Westminster councillor described the situation as “potentially dangerous, especially for those with disabilities”.
what’s the collective noun for lime bikes? (Spotted near #HackneyHalf) pic.twitter.com/jwbWrfr9br
— Tom Davidson (@TomDavidson09) May 19, 2024
There has since been a greater push for more designated rental bike parking areas, with Lime investing millions in infrastructure in London.