E-bikes: mobility solution or a ticking firebomb

The New Year's Eve subway fire in Toronto, caused by the lithium-ion battery powering an electric bicycle, questions the safety of battery-powered mobility solutions. The haste to adopt innovative mobility solutions must balance system-wide risks and rewards.

In a recent post, we discussed the feasibility of transforming Canadian cities' transportation networks and urban structures to emulate the Netherlands' bicycle-centric approach . Our skepticism toward the zealous advocacy by some Canadian transport planners for a wholesale shift from automobile to bicycle commuting generated a robust response. Informed colleagues contributed practical ideas for integrating non-motorized modes into Canada's existing transport systems. Among these, electric bikes were highlighted for their potential to extend commuting ranges, thereby enhancing the role of bicycles, particularly those powered by batteries, in Canada's mobility landscape.

However, the New Year's Eve incident at the Yonge and Sheppard subway station, where an electric bike's malfunctioning lithium-ion battery ignited a fire, starkly highlights the overlooked risks of these emerging mobility solutions. This near-catastrophe, which disrupted public transit in Toronto, underscores the possible dangers of such technologies. It's reasonable to anticipate that transit authorities may soon implement regulations to mitigate risks associated with lithium-ion batteries.

“One of the guys’ e-bikes just started to make noise … it kind of sounded like a flare and then smoke came out, a couple of seconds later, fire came out,” John said, noting it smelled like a bonfire with a plastic bag tossed in. “People evacuated pretty quickly. Some people fell on the floor and hurt their faces, but I don’t think they had serious injuries.”

Source: https://toronto.citynews.ca

Regionomics advocates for the establishment of safe infrastructure to support bicycle-based mobility. This includes dedicated bike lanes in areas with high cycling traffic and near middle and high schools, promoting a culture of non-motorized transport while ensuring the safety of younger cyclists.

While the push to adopt innovative mobility solutions is justified, it should not happen at the cost of ignoring the impending risks. Exploding lithium-ion batteries are the cause of thousands of fires and many deaths across the world. In China, where e-bikes and e-scooters became ubiquitous earlier, with an estimated 350 million registered e-bikes, over 10,000 electric bike fires causing 200 deaths were reported between 2013 and 2017. The portal micromobility.io reported that according to China’s National Fire and Rescue Administration, "in the first half of 2022, a total of 8,370 e-bike fire cases were reported, up 31.3% compared to the previous year.”

In China, where e-bikes and e-scooters became ubiquitous earlier, over 10,000 electric bike fires causing 200 deaths were reported between 2013 and 2017.

Consumer Reports documented 104 e-bike or e-scooter-related fires in New York City in 2021, causing four deaths. "By early December 2022, the city’s fire department attributed 202 fires, 142 injuries, and six deaths to such batteries, including one in August that reportedly killed a 5-year-old and her father’s girlfriend." The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported six deaths from similar sources of fires between 2017 and 2021. Whereas in Toronto, CityNews reported 29 fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in 2022 that jumped to over 50 fires by mid-October in 2023.

While these numbers are alarming, they must be seen in the context of mortality and injury risks imposed by other modes of transport. The number of fatalities recorded for automobile collisions in Canada and the US, though declining over the years, far outnumber those caused by e-bike fires. At the same time, one must normalize these statistics by the transportation effort to compute deaths per hundred million kilometres driven by each mode to develop a nuanced and more informed perspective.

Regionomics recommends stringent oversight in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries and electric bicycles. Their usage, particularly in public transit environments and other confined spaces, must be closely monitored to prevent potential hazards to commuters and the general public.

Regionomics Inc. is a Canadian consultancy specializing in applying data science and machine learning to find solutions for urban challenges. For information, please contact Murtaza Haider at [email protected] .