Privately owned e-scooters and e-unicycles are banned from all Transport for London (TfL) services and premises, effective from today.

London is one of a number of areas running official trials of rental e-scooters, but privately owned e-scooters remain illegal in public spaces

The ban is the result of safety concerns following recent fires on TfL premises & services.

Anyone with e-scooters and e-unicycles will not be allowed to enter TfL’s network or travel on any of its services, including on the Tube, buses, overground, TfL Rail, trams and DLR. The ban will include all e-scooters and e-unicycles, but does not include mobility scooters that are permitted on the network or foldable e-bikes.

TfL is also further investigating the safety of the vehicles and their suitability for carriage on the TfL transport network.

Its review has already uncovered that the previous incidents were caused by defective lithium-ion batteries which ruptured without warning. This led to fires that caused toxic smoke to be released – if it happened again within an enclosed area such as 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.

London Fire Brigade’s assistant commissioner for fire safety, Paul Jennings, said: “We have growing concerns about the safety of e-scooters due to the amount of fires we are seeing involving them, so we fully support TfL’s ban of private e-scooters on public transport.

“Fires are dangerous and terrifying wherever they happen, but a fire on the transport network has the potential to become very serious very quickly and involve hundreds of people, particularly on trains where evacuation may be challenging, so anything that can be done to mitigate that risk is a positive step.”

Transport and travel union TSSA welcomed the ban, implemented after calls by the union as the result of an incident at Parsons Green station in November, which saw an e-scooter lithium battery catch fire on an underground train and continue to blaze on the platform.

TSSA organising director Lorraine Ward said: “This shows we were right to raise the alarm in the wake of the serious incident at Parsons Green because one thing is for sure, it was only a matter of time before people got badly hurt, or worse.

“So today I’m again calling on Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, to implement a further ban across the wider travel network without delay. That should be a no-brainer.”

Large-scale illegal use of e-scooters

TfL also warned that privately owned e-scooters are illegal to use in public spaces, despite still widely available for purchase.

London is one of a number of areas running official trials of rental e-scooters, which began in June 2021 as part of trials permitted nationally by the Department for Transport and are operating in six London boroughs. However, as with all the cities involved in the trials, these are the only e-scooters legally allowed in public spaces in the UK.

The Metropolitan Police Service has also appealed to e-scooter retailers to be responsible in the selling of devices in the run-up to Christmas, when it is anticipated that sales will likely increase.

Already this year, the Met has seized nearly 4,000 e-scooters this year, and continues to work to deal with large-scale illegal use of them to keep road users and pedestrians safe.

It’s working with TfL and City Hall to ensure that customers are aware of the risks associated with illegal use of privately owned e-scooters on public land.

Commander Kyle Gordon, in charge of roads policing, said: “We know that some people may be unfamiliar with the rules around e-scooters and this is something we are working hard with partners to address.

“It is really unhelpful that retailers, fully aware of the risks they are creating for the public, continue to profit from selling machines illegal for use on public roads without sufficient explanation and guidance.

“This is leaving many with expensive seizures, fines and points on their licence. I am calling on retailers not to exploit their customers in the run-up to Christmas simply to make a profit.”