Voi vs Lime vs Forest: which UK e-bike and e-scooter is best in 2026, and which promo code gives the most?

How the three referral bonuses compare

Lime runs a flat, two-sided £4: the new rider gets a £4 coupon that auto-applies to their first ride, and the person who invited them earns a matching £4 once that ride completes. Both coupons last 60 days, each existing rider can earn up to 40, and the £4 covers a whole short ride including the unlock fee. Lime is the only one of the three that runs both e-bikes and rental e-scooters across multiple UK cities.

Forest pays the most: 30 minutes of free riding time to each side — worth up to £9.90 at its 33p-per-minute pay-as-you-go rate — released once the new rider takes their first ride. Two catches: the minutes are valid for just 7 days, and they cover riding time only, so the £1 unlock fee still applies. Forest is London-only, but it is a certified B Corp and the only operator here with Verra-validated carbon offsets.

Voi splits its reward: the new rider receives £2.50 in ride credit on sign-up, and the inviter earns £5 once that rider completes their first paid trip. The credit is ride money spent at your city's pay-as-you-go rate. Voi publishes no universal expiry, and it has by far the widest footprint outside London — it runs roughly two-thirds of England's rental e-scooter trials, often as the only operator in a town.

Which e-mobility referral should you actually use?

If you ride in central London regularly, Forest is the value pick — 30 free minutes (worth up to £9.90) dwarfs the others, and London is the one place all three compete. Just plan to spend the credit within a week before it expires.

If you want flexibility — both e-bikes and e-scooters, the most cities, and two months to use the credit — Lime is the most forgiving, and its £4 covers a complete short ride rather than just the per-minute charge.

If you live outside London, Voi is often the only rental operator in your town, so the £2.50 joining credit is the one you can actually use. It is also the pick when a friend is referring you, since the inviter's £5 is the largest referrer reward of the three.

There is no reason to pick only one. They are separate apps with separate new-customer eligibility, so a London rider can hold all three and use whichever has a vehicle nearest.

Coverage and the UK e-scooter law you need to know

Lime covers London plus Greater Manchester, Oxford, Nottingham, Milton Keynes and, from 1 April 2026, seven West Midlands cities. Forest operates only in London, across more than 18 boroughs. Voi runs across roughly 20-plus UK towns and cities, spanning Department for Transport e-scooter trial areas and e-bike schemes — including several London boroughs and the Glasgow cycle-hire scheme it took over in November 2025.

One legal point applies to every rental e-scooter: it is only legal to ride one in public through an approved operator on the DfT trial, which runs to May 2028. You must be 18 or over with at least a provisional UK driving licence carrying a category Q entitlement. Rental e-bikes need no licence — they are treated as ordinary pedal cycles — though Voi sets its own 16-or-over minimum for its rental e-bikes. Privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on public roads and pavements.