E-bike law changes move one step closer amid urgency to regulate 'ferocious' fire hazards

Speaking in the House of Lords this week, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff proposed amendments to ensure regulated marketplaces cooperate with emergency services to protect consumers from unsafe products.

The move comes as fire services across the UK report an alarming increase in e-bike-related incidents, with London experiencing concerning numbers.

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The proposed legislation aims to strengthen consumer protection through secondary legislation, though specific details are yet to be finalised.

According to data shared by Finlay, the London Fire Brigade now responds to e-bike and e-scooter fires approximately every 48 hours. From January to September this year alone, the brigade recorded 131 fires involving these vehicles.

He explained a notable incident which occurred at Sutton railway station in March, where a commuter's e-bike, purchased from an online marketplace four months earlier, caught fire during rush hour.

The station commander described the fire as "ferocious" and noted it "happened extremely quickly," adding that it "would have been devastating if things had worked out differently".

While no one was injured in the Sutton incident, it highlighted the dangers of products purchased through online marketplaces, whether new or second-hand.

Meanwhile, Lord Foster of Bath highlighted alarming statistics about lithium-ion battery fires during the debate. UK fires linked to lithium-ion batteries saw a 46 per cent increase in 2023 compared to 2022.

Fire services attended 921 lithium-ion battery fires in 2023, with one-third involving e-bikes. Now on average, the London Fire Brigade attends an e-bike fire every two days, making them the fastest-growing cause of fire in the capital.

The situation has become so serious that London Transport has banned e-bikes from being allowed on its network. Chiltern Railways has also taken action, displaying warning posters that explicitly state: "Lithium-ion batteries cause fires."

Foster stated that while the e-bike sector is promoting safe use and charging, Government intervention is urgently needed rather than leaving safety measures to industry self-regulation.

He shared an example from June 2023, where an e-bike battery explosion in Cambridge claimed the lives of Gemma and her two children, Lilly and Oliver. Her partner Scott survived but suffered serious injuries, spending a month in a coma.

Scott said: "The battery exploded under my stairs, whilst my family was asleep. Flames were coming up the stairs like a flamethrower. The fire and smoke filled the house up in seconds.

"Before the fire, I had no idea about the dangers of these lithium-ion batteries. I bought my battery online and just assumed it would be safe.”

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But Lord Leong, responding for the Government, outlined steps already taken to address lithium-ion battery safety concerns.

He explained that the Office for Product Safety and Standards has been working across Government and industry to identify root causes of battery safety issues. Since 2022, efforts have led to 20 product recalls and 22 enforcement actions for unsafe e-bikes and e-scooters.