'London needs charter for delivery e-bike riders'

The charter would call for greater food delivery rider and vehicle safety, Newham Council says

A London council is calling on fast food firms to warn delivery riders about the dangers of illegal e-bikes after a sharp rise in fires involving lithium batteries.

Newham Council wants the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to develop a "food delivery charter" that companies would have to sign up to.

This would compel them to provide riders with guidance and help to ensure their bikes are legally compliant and roadworthy.

Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat say they require their riders to use roadworthy and legal vehicles, and they would welcome the chance to work more closely with London's fire and transport authorities. The mayor said he was considering extending current guidance.

There have been almost 200 e-bike and e-scooters fires in London this year

E-bike and e-scooter fires typically happen when unsafe batteries are damaged or left on charge for too long.

Newham Council said its proposed charter was needed due to the "rapidly growing number" of these fires in London, some of which have been fatal.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it had responded to 181 e-bike and e-scooter fires this year, as of 29 October.

A spokesperson said six of those were in Newham, which had "consistently been among the boroughs that has recorded the most number of fires over the last few years".

In its recent report, Newham Council said the borough had "a high concentration of food-delivery riders" and that a growing number of them were using e-bikes, some of which were thought to have been illegally modified.

The report follows a two-year investigation into e-bike battery fire safety carried out in the east London borough involving working with food delivery riders and tenants of shared homes.

'People need to be warned'

According to the LFB, many such fires involve incompatible chargers, modifications, or counterfeit products which were supplied online by rogue sellers.

Labour councillor Amar Virdee, responsible for community safety in Newham, said: "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."

Newham Council recommended that Sir Sadiq led a "charter for food-delivery riders", similar to one adopted by Greater Manchester Combined Authority in April.

Signed by Just Eat, Deliveroo and UberEats, that charter included a pledge to provide riders with "support and/or guidance to enable them to ensure that their bikes are legally compliant and roadworthy".

It is similar to Transport for London's (TfL) charter for moped and motorbike delivery riders, which includes other pledges aimed at ensuring safe driving.

The charter would be similar to one adopted by Manchester, Newham Council said

A Deliveroo spokesperson said: "We would welcome the opportunity to build on our existing e-bike and road safety practices in Greater London with an industry-wide charter.

"We are committed to ensuring the safety of riders and the communities in which they operate.

"All riders are provided with road safety guidance when they join, and we have a number of partnerships in place to give riders more affordable access to compliant e-bikes.

"We regularly engage with riders through events and focus groups, often in collaboration with the London Fire Brigade and police."

An Uber Eats spokesperson said the safety of its customers and couriers was a "top priority".

"We welcome further collaboration with fire and transport authorities to improve vehicle safety awareness, and we are developing additional educational modules for couriers focused on updated guidance around e-bike and battery safety," they added.

Just Eat said it took safety seriously and supported couriers with "reminders about the dangers of illegal modifications of e-bikes".

"Just Eat is a signatory to the Transport for London Road Safety Charter and the Transport for Greater Manchester Food Delivery Charter, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities to improve safety for all road users," they added.

'Poor-quality products'

The Greater London Authority said the mayor was "deeply concerned about the rising number of fires linked to e-bikes and e-scooters".

A spokesperson for the mayor said Sir Sadiq was considering expanding TfL's motorcycle delivery charter to include e-bikes.

"The mayor, TfL and the London Fire Brigade continue to lobby government for clear national legislation and tougher product standards to ensure all e-bikes and e-scooters on London's streets are safe and that those selling poor-quality products are held accountable," they said.