It’s been an amazing year since Forest and Voi e-bikes rolled into Hounslow! You’ve taken over a million trips, helping keep our air clean. To celebrate, we’ve got some exclusive ride discounts.
On 11 August 2025, Forest and Voi launched their shared e-bikes in our borough. What a difference a year makes! You have completely embraced them as a fun, practical, and zero-emission way to commute and travel around.
The uptake across the borough has been fantastic. In just 12 months, Hounslow riders have taken over one million trips and covered a massive 2,324,000 miles. With roughly two-thirds of these journeys both starting and ending within the borough, it is clear these bikes are helping to connect our neighbourhoods. By choosing to pedal instead of drive, you are playing a huge part in keeping our local air fresh and our streets less congested.
Cllr Salman Shaheen Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Public Realm, said:
Reaching one million trips in our first year is a fantastic milestone that shows how enthusiastically our residents have embraced greener, active travel.
These e-bikes are helping to cut local congestion and clean up our air.
However, we know the scheme is not yet perfect. We hear the concerns raised by some residents, particularly around parking.
While the scheme has been very good for the borough, we are actively working with the operators to iron out these teething problems, improve parking compliance, and ensure our pavements remain safe and accessible for everyone.
Giving Back to the Community
Forest and Voi have been doing much more than just providing bikes. They have actively supported Hounslow residents by:
- Funding cycle training sessions to boost rider confidence.
- Providing local work placements.
- Hosting pop-up events and safety campaigns to ensure our roads and footways work for everyone.
Anniversary Rewards: Ride for Less
To say a massive thank you, both operators have some anniversary treats for you this week:
- Forest: Use the code HSLW8N6N in the Forest app to get 20 minutes of free riding. (Just a quick note: a £1 unlock fee applies to Pay As You Go rides. Once redeemed, your 20 minutes are valid for 7 days and limited to one per account. If you already have an active bundle or subscription, those minutes may be used first depending on their expiry).
- Voi: Enter the code HOUNSLOW1YEAR in the Voi app for 20 minutes of free riding. Don't forget, the Voi4Hounslow scheme also gives residents a 50% discount on 30-minute bundles.
Need more options? Both apps offer flexible subscriptions, minute bundles, and cycle-to-work schemes. Check their respective websites for the full details on discounts available for students, older residents, those on low incomes or with disabilities, and our hardworking NHS and emergency service staff.
Improving the Scheme: Park Smart, Keep Streets Clear
We are actively working to make the e-bike scheme better for everyone. We are working closely with Forest and Voi to keep streets tidy, particularly over the summer months when utilisation is at its highest. The operators work 24/7 to manage all 250+ parking bays across the borough, ensuring the highest priority bays are tidied. We are continually pushing the operators to improve their technology and operations to enhance parking compliance.
To keep Hounslow safe and accessible, please always park your e-bike fully inside one of our designated parking bays.
- If a bay is full: Simply check the app for the next closest one—it only takes a minute or two to find.
- Tackling parking issues: We are working closely with operators to issue warnings and fines to riders who ignore the parking rules.
- Spot a stray bike? You can report mis-parked bikes directly to the operators through their apps so they can be removed or tidied up.
Have Your Say
We are reviewing the network to ensure bays are in the right places. We are looking to add more parking bays in high-demand areas and improve existing ones. If you know a spot near you that desperately needs an e-bike bay, let us know!
For more information about the scheme, to request a new bay, or to read up on the rules, visit: www.hounslow.gov.uk/ebike
