Whilst e-bikes and e-scooters offer a great way round the city, if the batteries become damaged or begin to fail, they can start incredibly ferocious fires.
Lithium battery fires can spread quickly out of control, and within seconds start a large fire. When these batteries are charged in communal areas or escape routes, a fire breaking out can quickly block people’s ability to escape.
On average there was a fire every two days in 2023 in London. London Fire Brigade attended 143 e-bike fires along with 36 blazes involving e-scooters. Sadly, there were 3 deaths and around 60 injuries caused by these fires.
Many of these fires are caused by incompatible chargers, modifications to e-bikes, or faulty or counterfeit products which are purchased online. This includes chargers, lithium batteries and conversion kits for e-bikes.
London Fire Brigade’s #ChargeSafe campaign wants to prevent fires in e-bikes and e-scooters and give simple safety tips to reduce the risk to the public and firefighters.
The Office for Produce Safety and Standards are the regulator for product safety and advises people and business on products that are harmful.
They have recently issued enforcement action on UPP e-bike batteries. These batteries have been linked to a number of fires across England.
Consumers are being advised not to use the battery and contact the seller for further redress. Batteries can also normally be disposed of in local household recycling centres, however consumers should check first with the seller who should offer a facility for disposal, or with their local centre if they accept this type of battery. Throwing batteries away in normal household rubbish can lead to serious fires.
Using your e-bikes or e-scooter
In 2021 Transport for London (TfL) banned e-scooters from London's transport network. This is due to a number of fires on the network involving these vehicles. This means you’re unable to take your e-scooter on any TfL service. You can read TfL’s full guidance on e-scooters on their site.
Not all electric vehicles, such as e-scooters and e-unicycles are road legal in the UK. This means you can be fined by the police for using them on the road in the UK. Always check to see if you can use your vehicle on public roads.