Forest bikes are quickly becoming one of the more popular choices of bike hire in London.
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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating London e-bike hire company The Human Forest and their claims to offer “10 minutes free daily”.
The claim is printed as a decal on every Forest bike in London, and is a key part of the company’s marketing strategy. Though they include a disclaimer on their website that the unlock and service fees are not included, there is no such disclaimer on the bikes themselves.
Forest includes a disclaimer on their website, but not on the bikes.
James Baker uses a Forest bike frequently to commute in London. He says he was “surprised when charged for [his] first ride”, going on to say, “it’s quite misleading but I still use the bikes. Although the unlock fee is more than the cost of taking the bus!” He said the free ride time is one of the reasons that he signed up for the bikes in the first place.
It’s quite misleading. It was one of the reasons I first signed up to use the bikes!
Forest charges users a £1.90 fee for unlocking the bikes, regardless of whether they have used any of the 10 free minutes. The company goes on to charge people 29p per minute of travel.
Forest advertises 10 minutes free every day.
Human Forest prides itself on being London’s “most sustainable shared e-bike operator”, with a zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy. Forest bikes are also more popular in south London as their limit of use goes further south than competitors.
Forest Bikes can be used further south than competitors, according to this map taken from their website.
London has several options for E-bike hire, and with Santander recently introducing E-bikes to their fleet, there are more hireable e-bikes in London than ever before. Between Forest, Lime, Tier and Santander, there are 40,000 e-bikes available.
Lime owns the highest number so far, but the market is changeable and companies often try to take a larger share of the market.
We asked Human Forest for comment, but they have yet to respond.
The ASA couldn’t comment as the investigation is ongoing, but they confirmed that the case was active.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineAdvertising Standards Authority investigates ‘misleading’ Forest bike claim
Short Headline'10 minutes free daily': Forest investigated by ASA
StandfirstThe London bike hire company advertises that people can claim 10 minutes free every day, but still charges for unlocking.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is investigating London e-bike hire company The Human Forest and their claims to offer “10 minutes free daily”.
The claim is printed as a decal on every Forest bike in London, and is a key part of the company’s marketing strategy. Though they include a disclaimer on their website that the unlock and service fees are not included, there is no such disclaimer on the bikes themselves.
Forest includes a disclaimer on their website, but not on the bikes.
James Baker uses a Forest bike frequently to commute in London. He says he was “surprised when charged for [his] first ride”, going on to say, “it’s quite misleading but I still use the bikes. Although the unlock fee is more than the cost of taking the bus!” He said the free ride time is one of the reasons that he signed up for the bikes in the first place.
It’s quite misleading. It was one of the reasons I first signed up to use the bikes!
Forest charges users a £1.90 fee for unlocking the bikes, regardless of whether they have used any of the 10 free minutes. The company goes on to charge people 29p per minute of travel.
Forest advertises 10 minutes free every day.
Human Forest prides itself on being London’s “most sustainable shared e-bike operator”, with a zero-emissions fleet powered by renewable energy. Forest bikes are also more popular in south London as their limit of use goes further south than competitors.
Forest Bikes can be used further south than competitors, according to this map taken from their website.
London has several options for E-bike hire, and with Santander recently introducing E-bikes to their fleet, there are more hireable e-bikes in London than ever before. Between Forest, Lime, Tier and Santander, there are 40,000 e-bikes available.
Lime owns the highest number so far, but the market is changeable and companies often try to take a larger share of the market.
We asked Human Forest for comment, but they have yet to respond.
The ASA couldn’t comment as the investigation is ongoing, but they confirmed that the case was active.
