E-scooters banned from London transport over fire fears

E-scooters have been banned from all London transport amid fire concerns.

It comes after an e-scooter burst into flames on the Tube at Parsons Green station last month.

A review into e-scooters by Transport for London (TfL) found that defective lithium batteries could cause e-scooters to catch fire.

TfL warned that a fire in an enclosed area like a bus or the Tube could lead to “significant harm” to passengers and staff.

“This review has found that the incidents that occurred were caused by defective lithium-ion batteries which ruptured without warning”, TfL said in a statement.

“This led to fires that caused toxic smoke to be released.

“TfL consider that if this were to happen again and fires occurred in an enclosed area like a Tube train or a bus, there could be significant harm to both customers and staff, as well as secondary injuries from customers trying to escape the area.”

The ban applies to all TfL services, including tubes, buses and trams.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) also backed the ban, saying that it had been called out to fight more than 50 fires involving e-scooters and e-bikes in 2021.

“This year, firefighters have attended more than 50 fires involving e-scooters and e-bikes – which is double the total amount seen in 2020”, the LFB said in a statement.

Last month it was revealed that 131 pedestrians in Britain had been injured by e-scooters over the previous 12 months.

Thirty-seven of the casualties suffered injuries described by the Department for Transport as “serious”.

Other road users injured in e-scooter collisions in the year ending June include 36 cyclists and 32 vehicle occupants.

Fourteen casualties were aged 70 and above, while 17 were between 60 and 69.

Twenty-one children under 10 were injured.

The figures also show that three e-scooter users were killed in crashes, while a further 729 were injured.