The number of people being seriously injured while cycling in London is set to reach a high of about 1,200 a year – with almost a fifth of injuries happening on hired e-bikes.
The proportion of cyclists killed or seriously injured while hiring an e-bike, such as those provided by Lime, Forest or Transport for London, increased from one per cent of all cyclist injuries in 2017 to 17 per cent by May last year.
E-bike firms say this reflects the huge increase in the use of dockless hire bikes in London - but the figures will come as little surprise to many Londoners concerned at the reckless way the battery-powered bikes are ridden by some cyclists.
The figures – believed to be the most comprehensive injury data ever published on the capital’s e-bike hire industry - were part of a private presentation by London’s walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman to TfL’s safety panel.
It came as TfL reported a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in serious injuries to cyclists riding all kinds of bikes, up from 773 in the first nine months to 2024 to 878 in the same period last year.
If the injuries continued at the same rate in between October and December, the total for 2025 could exceed 1,200 – the worst annual figures since TfL began publishing comparative figures in 2017.
The risk of a cyclist being killed or seriously injured in London has increased by 1.1 per cent in the last year – despite the number of people cycling also increasing.
Unusually, more cyclists than pedestrians have been injured on the capital’s roads last year – amid a wider road safety crisis.
Mr Norman gave a detailed presentation to TfL’s safety panel in December after a request from members for a “deep dive” into the number of cyclists being seriously injured in London.
Mr Norman’s presentation noted that there are about 1.5m bike trips each weekday in London – about half the number of Tube journeys.
Cycling now accounted for 4.7 per cent of all daily trips made in London – and six per cent of all trips made on the road.
But in a section on dockless cycle hire, Mr Norman said: “There is a growing proportion of cycle hire users among cycling fatal and serious injuries, from 1% in 2017 to 17% in 2025 (to end of May). This reflects the growth in dockless bikes hires.”
Last May, a Lime bike rider had a miraculous escape from serious injury after “face-planting” the road after clipping a stopped double-decker bus in Shoreditch.
TfL is on “red alert” after the number of serious injuries suffered by all road users – including car drivers and passengers – rose by eight per cent year-on-year, to 2,829 for the first three-quarters of 2025/26.
TfL said this was due to a 43 per cent increase in serious injuries to car occupants – up from 301 to 429 victims – in addition to the rise in cycling injuries.
The total number of “KSIs” – killed or seriously injured – is likely to be 400 victims higher than in 2024/25.
It means that the “vision zero” target of London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries by 2041, looks even further out of reach, primarily because of the increase in serious injuries.
A total of 65 people have been killed on the capital’s roads since April – down on the 71 killed in the same period a year earlier – and the lowest at this point in the year since the pandemic.
A report to TfL’s safety and security panel on Monday said the level of serious injuries had been “of concern” for some time.
It said that while fatalities on London’s roads “remain within the statistically normal range”, with a sustained improvement compared to previous years, serious injuries “have shown a sustained increase since late 2024, driven mainly by injuries involving car occupants and cyclists”.
Vincent Stops, a former Hackney councillor and safer streets campaigner, said: “2025 will prove to have the highest number of serious cyclist injuries since records began and the rate of serious injury per journey is rising.
“Yet there are no alarm bells ringing at TfL. This has to change.”
Tom Fyans, chief executive of London Cycling campaign, said: “The risk to those who cycle in London is tied to how many times each journey they face a driver cutting across them, a driver passing too close, a driver failing to spot them.
“The evidence on this is really clear: too many people are driving when they could use other modes and there's a lack of separation for those cycling on busy roads and at busy junctions.
“TfL and the mayor know London is way behind other global cities on helping drivers switch modes and on delivering a network of truly safe and comfortable streets for cycling.
“Lack of action means more people killed cycling, three so far already this year, and fewer people who otherwise would take up cycling doing so."
A TfL spokesperson said: "There has been a significant increase in the number of cycle journeys in recent years.
“Analysis of our last full year of verified data in 2024 shows that the risk of being killed or seriously injured while cycling in London decreased by 23 per cent from our 2010-14 baseline, while the risk of being killed while cycling has more than halved.
“While provisional casualty data for the January-August 2025 period sadly indicates a rise in the number of people seriously injured while cycling in London, it is still too early to make any firm conclusions based on this provisional data.
“We're determined to ensure that everyone can cycle safely which is why we're investing more than £150m this year to improve London’s roads, over half of which is invested through London’s boroughs.
“We have so far completed work at 46 Safer Junctions across London, including work that is due to complete in the spring at Lambeth Bridge.
“We also continue to work closely with the boroughs to expand London’s high-quality Cycleways network, which now stands at 435km, up from 90km in 2016 and will be setting out plans for further investment with the boroughs in the coming weeks."
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