Key Points
- Newham Council calls for London to adopt a Manchester-style Food Delivery Charter to reduce lethal home fires caused by illegal e-bikes.
- The E-bike Battery Fire Safety Project Report urges urgent, coordinated action across London and the UK to prevent e-bike and e-scooter battery fires.
- Unsafe lithium batteries cause fires through thermal runaway when damaged or overcharged—fires are difficult to extinguish.
- The project targeted delivery riders and residents in multi-occupied homes through fieldwork, training, and outreach.
- There is a newly produced toolkit for boroughs to adapt, promoting prevention on the streets and in homes.
- Government legislation aims to regulate product safety and hold online platforms accountable, but many illegal batteries are still in use.
- London fire services responded to 211 e-bike/e-scooter fires last year, with London accounting for 175 incidents and 8 deaths.
- Incidents rose from 116 in 2022 to 123 by August 2023 in London, with Newham seeing a 64% rise in fires to around 23 in 2023.
- Recommendations include London-wide lobbying for quality control, a government-backed Help to Buy for legal e-bikes, mandatory safety promotion by delivery platforms, and crackdowns on illegal bikes.
- Newham Community Project highlights the importance of safe charging and behaviour changes among delivery riders.
- London Fire Brigade stresses the urgent need for increased awareness to prevent future tragedies.
What is the E-bike Battery Fire Safety Project Report?
The London Borough of Newham’s first ever E-bike Battery Fire Safety Project Report, co-authored by the Newham Community Project and the borough council, calls for urgent and coordinated action to tackle the increasing threat posed by illegal e-bike and e-scooter batteries causing home fires. This report follows a rise in fires linked to lithium-ion batteries that can overheat and ignite through a process known as thermal runaway, producing blazes that are extremely difficult to extinguish.
As stated in the report, there has been a significant surge in battery-related fires causing harm to residents and property:
“In the London Borough of Newham, the London Fire Brigade has reported a sharp increase in battery-related fires, causing significant harm to residents and property.”
The rising danger has prompted Newham Council to suggest that London adopt a Manchester-style Food Delivery Charter, a proactive framework designed to improve safety in the food delivery sector where e-bikes are frequently used.
How serious is the e-bike fire problem in London?
According to statistics shared in the report and from statements by the London Fire Brigade (LFB), the problem is escalating with alarming frequency:
- In 2024, fire services across the UK attended 211 e-bike and e-scooter fires, resulting in eight fatalities. London accounted for the majority of these incidents with 175 fires.
- Between 2022 and 2023, London witnessed an increase in incidents from 116 to 123 by August 2023.
- East London, including Newham, saw a rise to 56 incidents from 38 in the previous year.
- Newham itself experienced around 23 battery fires in 2023, a 64% increase compared to the previous year.
Pamela Oparaocha, Assistant Commissioner for Prevention & Protection at the London Fire Brigade, highlighted the persistent risks:
“Fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters are worryingly common in the capital. We launched our #ChargeSafe campaign in 2023 to highlight the fire risks with e-bikes and e-scooters; however, the rising number of incidents we attend clearly demonstrate the urgent need for further awareness to help protect lives and avoid future tragedies.”
Why is Newham proposing a Manchester-style Food Delivery Charter?
Newham Council, represented by Councillor Amar Virdee, the Lead Member for Housing Needs, Homelessness and Private Rented Sector and Community Safety, explained the rationale behind proposing the adoption of the charter for London:
“We have seen a huge growth in the number of food delivery riders using e-bikes. That number is only set to grow with the market in food deliveries set to grow by 15 per cent each year by 2029. These fires are extremely dangerous and people need to be warned of the dangers, the trouble is that these illegal batteries are often a fraction of the price of legal ones.”
The Manchester-style Food Delivery Charter sets a framework for delivering safer and more regulated working conditions, including better oversight on the use of e-bikes and battery safety. Newham Council hopes to replicate this success across London, combating the rising incidents by encouraging safer rider behaviour and tightening control on battery quality standards.
What are the main recommendations from Newham’s report?
The report puts forward several practical recommendations aimed at reducing dangers and preventing more fires:
- London-wide lobbying for tighter quality controls and clearer enforcement powers to eliminate illegal and unsafe e-bike batteries.
- Introduction of a Government-backed Help to Buy scheme specifically for gig economy workers to acquire legal, safe e-bikes.
- Mandating delivery platforms such as Just Eat, UberEats, and Deliveroo to promote battery safety actively, sponsor battery checks, and include fire safety prompts within their apps.
- Coordinated efforts to clamp down on illegal e-bikes to prevent hazardous batteries from circulating.
Rozina Iqbal, Director of Operations at the Newham Community Project, emphasized the importance of changing rider habits:
“Many delivery riders want to charge e-bikes safely—but cost & lack of advice are barriers. We helped riders change habits using LFB #ChargeSafe tools, peer outreach and multilingual guidance. Eight out of ten attending our training now charge safely and had stopped overnight charging.”
How is the new legislation addressing these fire risks?
Recent government legislation grants new powers to regulate products and enforce consumer safety, aiming to ensure online platform providers bear responsibility for the safety of the products connected to their services. However, there remains a significant legacy problem: non-compliant lithium batteries already in circulation across London and the UK continue to pose serious fire risks. Immediate action was thus deemed necessary, as reflected in Newham’s call for a comprehensive food delivery safety charter and more robust local and national enforcement.
How is the Newham E-bike Battery Fire Safety Project engaging with riders and communities?
The two-year project has combined practical fieldwork, training, and outreach to high-risk groups, especially targeting delivery riders and those living in multiple-occupancy residences prone to fire hazards linked to e-bike batteries. The project translated its research into actionable prevention tactics through a newly released toolkit designed for easy adaptation by other boroughs:
- The toolkit supports local measures addressing street-level safety, safer home charging practices, and rider education.
- A key focus has been multilingual guidance and peer outreach to maximise accessibility and effectiveness.
The increasing frequency of e-bike and e-scooter battery fires in London, particularly in Newham, has sparked urgent calls for a citywide safety charter modelled on Manchester’s system. Newham Council, in partnership with the Newham Community Project and London Fire Brigade, advocates for stronger regulatory measures, safety promotion by delivery platforms, and government incentives to replace illegal batteries with safe alternatives.
With fire incidents rising and posing a clear danger to residents and delivery workers alike, the need for coordinated action, public education, and legislative enforcement is critical. Newham’s pioneering report and its recommendations represent a potential blueprint for London-wide action to prevent future tragedies caused by unsafe e-bikes.
