E-bikes to be banned from Tube, Elizabeth line and London Overground due to fire risk
26 March 2025, 10:28 | Updated: 26 March 2025, 10:32
E-bikes will be banned on parts of London's transport network from the end of the month to ensure the safety of customers and staff, Transport for London has announced.
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Foldable e-bikes – such as those produced by Brompton – will still be allowed.
E-bikes will be banned from the Tube, the Elizabeth line and the DLR (Docklands Light Railway). The ban comes into force on March 31.
Passengers found with a non-foldable e-bike on TfL services will be told to leave and could be fined up to £1,000.
TfL said in a statement: "While the majority of e-bikes are safe, there have been a small number of incidents where non-foldable e-bikes have caught fire on the transport system in London.
"To ensure the safety of the network for customers and staff, customers in possession of non-foldable e-bikes will not be permitted to travel on most TfL services, including on the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR.
"The ban includes all non-folding e-bikes, including standard cycles that have been converted to e-bikes using conversion kits."
Lilli Matson, TfL’s chief safety, health and environment officer, said: “This safety ban will play a vital role in keeping our transport system safe for everyone.”
There were 143 e-bike fires in London in 2023, 142 last year and 14 in January 2025, according to the Evening Standard.
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🚨 Our reps are meeting with @TfL today, urging them to ban flammable electric bikes from the network. Safety must come first to protect passengers and transport workers. https://t.co/EVZY7jT8LX
— TSSA (@TSSAunion) March 11, 2025
Earlier this month an e-bike exploded on a Tube platform.
Toxic fumes were sent billowing across Rayners Lane station and there was disruption to the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines.
Aslef said an internal London Underground investigation concluded that the e-bike was “only moments away from boarding the train” and that if the explosion had happened on board the train, the outcome would have been much more severe.
The TSSA union urged an immediate ban on e-bikes from the network after the incident.
