From today, non-folding e-bikes are banned from most of the Transport for London network, including Tubes, Overground trains and trams, because of serious concerns over fires.
Anyone found breaking the rule could face a fine of £1,000.
The London Fire Brigade says it is dealing with an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day and has warned about safety risks from bicycles that have had batteries added using electric conversion kits.
TfL said it has imposed the ban after a “significant fire” at Rayners Lane Station last month.
There was an e-bike fire at Sutton’s National Rail station a year ago. The bike’s owner said he had bought the cycle online four months beforehand and there had been no problems, but then “the bike started smoking on the train platform and then burst into flames”. As shown in the video of CCTV footage above, it was a matter of seconds after the battery began to emit smoke that the e-bike exploded into flames.
There is no national policy in regard to e-bikes on railways.
All e-scooters, e-unicycles, e-skateboards and hoverboards were banned on Thameslink and Southern Rail services in June 2023.
Unfolded e-bikes can still be carried off-peak on some National Rail trains that aren’t operated for TfL.
TfL banned e-scooters from its network in December 2021.
The ban on e-bikes comes in because the transport authority says that staff would not be able to tell the difference between purpose-built e-bikes and the often higher risk modified bikes.
‘Serious concerns’: LFB deputy commissioner Charlie Pugsley says that his officers are dealing with an e-bike fire on average every other day
Folding e-bikes are exempt from the ban. TfL said it was “not aware of any reports of foldable e-bike fires in London, and there are fewer opportunities for foldable cycles to be converted into e-bikes using conversion kits”.
“We welcome this move by Transport for London following their detailed safety review, as it acknowledges the risks that we know e-bike batteries can pose,” said LFB’s Charlie Pugsley.
“While we recognise the sustainable benefits e-bikes, and micromobility generally, bring to our city, the reality is that across London we have been seeing an e-bike or e-scooter fire every other day, on average, and we have particular concern about the risk posed by conversion kits or modified e-bikes.
“When these fires occur, they can be sudden, incredibly ferocious and produce smoke that is extremely toxic.”
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On behalf of Croydon Cyclists
This ban is an unfortunate end result of years of failure by Trading Standards to regulate online marketplaces where unsafe and illegal eBike parts are readily available, and legitimate users will suffer as a result.
EBikes built to UK standards have an impeccable safety record, but LFB and TfL are right to recognise battery fires on grey imports as a threat to public safety.
This should be a wake-up call to central Government to get a grip on these marketplaces, and end the flow of illicit and unsafe goods.
We welcome the exemption for folding bikes, but ask that the adapted eBikes used by some Disabled people as mobility aids also be included in the exemption.
For others who are reliant on a mix of eBikes and public transport to make their journeys, we call on Croydon Council to engage a.s.a.p. with dockless operators like Lime and Forest to extend their operations to the borough, so that people can continue to enjoy the benefits of eBiking without the need to take bikes on the trains themselves.
I agreed with this considered response right up to the proposal to expand dockless Lime and Human Forest hire bikes. The business model is that any public space and even some private spaces, are there for the company and hirers to dump their bikes inconsiderately. This includes as obstacles to the footway, using up public cycle stand spaces and generally being an eyesore.
I heard of, and then witnessed, part of the operation in which tens of bikes are collected, transported across London and disgorged from vans to where they may be needed and will make most profit.
There are some astonishing Internet photos of hundreds of rival company bikes in other countries consuming public spaces.
At least one London Borough has clamped down on a dockless bike company requiring it to change instead to carriageway docking areas to abate these hazards and nuisance.