OPINION


Taking charge: Industry e-bike safety assurance scheme steps up


By Peter Eland A


s e-bikes remain in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, how can responsible suppliers and retailers distance their safe and legal products from


unjustified reputational damage? The answer, say industry bodies BA and ACT, is an e-bike safety assurance scheme. The Bicycle Association’s Peter Eland explains why, and how, it’s taking shape – and why every reputable e-bike brand and retailer should be part of it. If, as an industry, we wait for the Government to sort out the issues behind the damaging media coverage of “e-bikes”, we could be waiting a long time. We’ve laid out exactly what Government must do to stop battery fires in our BA Action Plan, and all of the key messages in this plan were also picked up by the recent report on e-bike safety from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking. In short, Government must regulate online


marketplaces, reform the gig economy delivery sector and address the loophole which allows high-speed e-motorbikes (and conversion kits) to be sold legally as “e-bikes” under the fig leaf of “private land use only”. Legislators will soon have an


opportunity to act on online marketplaces under powers granted by the upcoming Product Regulation and Metrology Bill – but we’re told they will fall short of making online marketplaces liable for the products they sell. On the gig economy, we’ve proposed numerous routes to real reform, but so far Government seems unwilling to do much more than give the operators a stern talking to. And to date, there seems little appetite to take on the legislative task of closing the ‘private land’ loophole.


24 | August 2025


We’ll keep pushing hard, with our allies, on all of these fronts – because Government action on the root causes is the only way that damaging headlines can be stopped. But meanwhile, we can’t let the


reputational damage to legitimate e-bikes continue – not just in terms of consumer concern, but also in terms of insurance-driven access restrictions for all e-bikes. That’s why the BA and ACT are working together to ensure that there’s a clear and credible way to direct consumers and other


stakeholders to e-bikes which are safe and legal, at both brand and retailer levels. For retailers, the ACT is leading, with BA support, on the “E-bike Positive Retailer Pledge”, a retailer self-commitment to sell and repair only safe and legal e-bikes and parts. I’ll leave them to say more in a future article – but already around 400 retailers


have signed up, and consumers are directed to these retailers via the e-bike positive website, where you’ll also find info for e-bike


‘IF YOU MANAGE AN E-BIKE BRAND, WE’D URGE YOU TO JOIN THE BA AND JOIN THE AUDIT QUEUE ASAP, SO THAT YOUR BRAND IS IN THE VERY FIRST BATCH OF SAFETY-AUDITED E-BIKE BRANDS TO BE FLAGGED TO CONSUMERS WHEN WE LAUNCH TO THE PUBLIC NEXT YEAR’


retailers and repairers who would like to join. The BA is leading the industry’s quality assurance scheme for e-bike brands. This involves an audit process which is designed to be as low-cost and light-touch as possible while also remaining rigorous and credible, so that only e-bike brands with proper safety testing and compliance processes in place get listed on the scheme. Many of the UK’s largest e-bike brands are already being audited, as we work through a soft-launch phase before a public launch early next year. For any e-bike brand, being listed on this quality assurance register will be a powerful marketing tool.


www.bikebiz.com


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