E-bikes and e-scooters setting alight are London’s fastest growing fire risk with more than 130 incidents recorded so far this year, Parliament was told.
Peers heard how one such blaze is happening every two days.
They were debating the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill which aims to tighten the law around these vehicles and their batteries.
Lord Foster of Bath, who has been warning of the dangers for seven years from e-vehicles, told the Upper Chamber: “For instance, the London Fire Brigade attends a fire involving an e-bike or e-scooter once every two days.
“It is now London’s fastest-growing fire risk.
“This trend is being repeated right across the country, to the point where many local transport bodies now ban them.”
He highlighted posters from Chiltern Railways stating: “NO e-scooters allowed on trains or stations” before adding: “Lithium batteries are a fire risk”.
E-scooters are also banned on the Tube.
The London Fire Brigade attended 143 e-bike fires and 36 blazes involving e-scooters in 2023, which it stressed was “unfortunately a record-breaking year”.
In a briefing to peers it added: “Sadly, there were also three deaths and around 60 injuries caused by such fires. To end of September 2024, there have been about 131 e-bike and e-scooter fires.”
This rate is very similar to 2023.
The fire chiefs stressed many of the incidents are being caused by incompatible chargers, or faulty or unsafe products bought online.
“Currently, there is inadequate regulation for e-bikes, e-scooters, conversion kits and accessories sold online,” said the LFB.
It backed the new legislation which it emphasised would allow the Government to introduce better regulation of e-bikes and e-scooters, particularly for conversion kits, batteries, and chargers, with increased safeguards on online marketplaces to protect people from buying dangerous products.
The brigade highlighted: “Presently, the use of e-bike conversion kits are a real fire safety concern for LFB.
“The kits enable people to modify regular bikes to e-bikes, these can be fitted personally or by a provider.
“People often source a battery and/or charger separately, and often from online marketplaces, which may not meet the correct safety standards. These batteries are more susceptible to catastrophic failure if incorrect chargers are used.”
EBay is to restrict the sale of e-bikes and e-bike batteries on its UK platform from October 31, it has announced.
The site said only “eligible business sellers” will be allowed to list them after this date.
An eBay spokeswoman said: “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay.”
Just days ago, a close family friend of a model who died in an e-bike battery fire warned that it is only a matter of time until a similar incident happens on a train.
Alda Simoes, 47 called for Transport for London to ban e-bikes from trains and stations in the wake of Sofia Duarte’s death in a “ferocious fire” in Old Kent Road, south London, on New Year’s Day in 2023.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Safety is our number one priority and we continuously review our risk assessments and the controls we have in place to ensure our customers can travel safely. As part of this process, we continue to discuss the potential risks associated with the carriage of e-bikes on TfL services with stakeholders.”
In June, a coroner also called for government action after the death of a man whose home caught fire when an e-bike battery pack he was charging overheated ignited.
Maria Voisin, senior coroner for Avon, issued the plea after presiding over an inquest into the death of Abdul Oryakhel who fell from the window of his 16th floor flat while trying to escape the blaze.
Also in June, grieving father Scott Peden, 30, from Cambridge, called for urgent e-bike safety measures one year after losing his partner and two children in a fire.
Mr Peden lost his partner Gemma, 31; and their children Lilly, eight; and Oliver, four; during a fire caused by an e-bike battery bought online.
