Ban e-mobility devices!

With such a striking title for this week’s Burning Matters newsletter, we welcome all opinions (and pitchforks) as we discuss: e-mobility devices - the boon or bane of fire safety?

Gone are the days when scooters were used to be powered solely by sheer human effort. The “kick scooters” have slowly faded into oblivion due to the rise of the electric-powered scooters or “e-scooters”.

Technology exists for the purpose of making the human experience better. As such, it does not come as a surprise that urban transportation in the form of e-scooters, e-bikes, and hoverboards has experienced a rapid proliferation in recent years. Certainly, e-mobility devices do not only contribute to faster transportation but also has the potential to play a role in the drive for sustainability and many developed countries have benefited energy-wise from a “shared e-mobility devices” scheme.

But with the rise of these devices, we also see a rapid increase in safety challenges, mainly surrounding the battery technology, lack of driving and road precautions, and essentially no harmonized standard for the manufacturing of e-mobility devices. How many videos have we watched and reposted that involved an e-mobility device catching fire for no apparent reason? Here is an example that went viral - e-device fire in India.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has recently released a statement to say

This has resulted in Transport for London (TfL) banning commuters from bringing e-scooters or e-unicycles on TfL services or other premises in the public transport network. Rushed or reasonable?