'Nuisance' electronic cycle bays scheme branded a 'waste of money'

By Emily Smith & Robert White

Daily Telegraph – 11 September 2025

Residents of a New Forest town have claimed the beauty spot is at risk of ruin over the "stupid" installation of e-bike bays by the council. Hampshire county council plans to introduce around 50 rental cycles in Totton in partnership with operator Voi, claiming the scheme will provide an "easy and eco-friendly" way to travel. But residents said the bikes were a "waste of taxpayers' money" and would "litter the streets".

Totton is on the edge of the New Forest National Park, a protected landscape known for its heathland, ponies and natural beauty. The council proposed 22 locations for the new bikes in Totton and 21 in the neighbouring town of Gosport, the majority of which are in residential areas. One site is proposed directly outside the home of Ricardo and Zoe Ramshaw. Mr Ramshaw – a secondary school teacher – said:

“I’m not opposed to sustainable transport, I drive an electric vehicle, but the bike location is literally 10 metres from my front door – I can see where it will be from my kitchen window.

It’s not fair to have increased footfall outside your front door during the middle of the night when they do the collections and exchanging of the e-bikes between 11pm and 3am, when your kids are going to be sleeping.

When you see e-bikes, people don’t look after them, they just throw them on the floor and it’s going to be on my front drive.

It’s also a massive safety issue – it’s very dangerous because it blocks sight of the road – and then there’s noise pollution, litter and increased footfall at antisocial hours.

It really is a stupid location and it’s a 24-hour scheme, so anybody could be outside my house being noisy dumping a bike.”

'Head in the sand'

He said the council had "buried their head in the sand" regarding the concerns of residents and added:

“There are so many other areas they could be placed which aren’t residential.”

Sir Julian Lewis, the Conservative MP for New Forest East, has also urged the council to prevent bays being placed near housing.

He said:

“It is absurd to expect people to put up with the peace and quiet of their homes being seriously compromised by the arrival and departure, very close by and at all hours of the day and night, of vehicles of this sort.

I recognise that the council has chosen to impose an e-bike scheme on the residents of Totton and that this is within its powers.

Yet it has no right to undermine the quality of life of people in their own homes when it could easily use common sense and consideration to create the bays in non-residential areas.”

'Ridiculous idea'

Residents have branded the bikes a "menace", a "gimmick" and "a ridiculous idea" on social media, claiming they will end up dumped in ditches or scattered across pavements. Alison Morgan, one of the residents leading the campaign for the council to find a better location for docking stations ahead of the scheme's rollout, said many of the proposed locations were positioned directly in front of residential homes which was "an invasion of privacy". In one post, she said that one planned location was on a blind bend junction, which was "incredibly dangerous".

Hampshire council has been approached for comment.