TTC board votes to ban lithium-ion-powered e-bikes and scooters in winter months
Board votes to ban vehicles from Nov. 15 to April 15 each year over safety concerns
The Toronto Transit Commission board has voted to ban electric bikes and scooters with lithium-ion batteries from TTC vehicles and stations during winter due to fire concerns.
At its Tuesday meeting, the board voted six to four in favour of the ban, which will be in place from Nov. 15 to April 15. The ban takes effect immediately, but the TTC said on Wednesday there will be a period of "phased implementation," along with a campaign and education.
TTC board chair Jamaal Myers said staff looked at other ways to lower the fire risk but found none would do so significantly. Other ways included whether batteries could be removed and put in fire-safe bags, whether the TTC could use e-bike restrictions adopted by Metrolinx and whether e-bikes could be allowed on subway trains before 7 a.m. and after 12 a.m.
The question of enforcement of the ban will have to be put to staff, Myers said. The TTC already has a ban on regular bicycles during rush hour that is not effectively enforced, he said.
Myers added that the fire risk of electric bikes is greater in winter because of the presence of salt and water can make a battery corrosive.
The motion, moved by Myers, requests that the city and the Toronto Parking Authority work with food delivery companies and labour unions, such as Gig Workers United, to study the feasibility of providing more secure e-bike storage and battery charging facilities near transit stations.
The motion also requests that the city work with companies to support their workers' needs, including requiring verification of e-bike and battery certification to use food delivery platforms.
And it directs TTC staff to advocate for the development of safety regulations for e-bikes and their batteries to the Ministry of Transportation and Transport Canada.
Ban may be ignored if not enforced, councillor says
At least two councillors said before the vote that they do not support a complete ban.
"It is not possible to have no fire risk on the TTC," Coun. Dianne Saxe, a TTC commissioner, said at the meeting.
"We have to reduce the risk and we have to manage it. Somebody might possibly die if there's a fire, and that would be terrible and tragic," Saxe said.
"But I also want to point out that making it impossible for gig workers to do the deliveries downtown — and they now do hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of deliveries downtown — if they are forced into large motor vehicles, that increases congestion, that increases deaths on roads and more people will die and be injured on the roads."
Saxe's motion that the TTC adopt Metrolinx's e-bike restrictions was defeated.
Coun. Josh Matlow, another TTC commissioner, said the ban may not actually work if it is not enforced. He said people are choosing to use e-bikes and e-scooters because they are affordable and make it easier to get around, adding the vehicles are a fact of life in Toronto now.
"I'm concerned that if it's simply just a ban, that it may be ignored by many," Matlow told the meeting.
"I'm not convinced that realistically it'll avoid any worst-case scenario that will happen because people who will bring it on, despite the ban, are not really going to be concerned about our bylaws. If we're not serious about the enforcement, it's not really going to happen and the word will get out."
Toronto Fire Services said in a statement on Wednesday that it will continue to offer the TTC expert advice on how to ease the risks associated with lithium-ion battery fires.
Ban puts gig workers at risk, advocates say
Shelagh Pizey-Allen, director of the transit advocacy group TTCriders, said on Tuesday that the group thinks the city should regulate the companies that sell and rent unsafe batteries rather than trying to regulate gig workers themselves.
She said the group understands that the batteries pose a safety risk but a seasonal ban is not the answer. She added that Toronto residents have a higher chance of experiencing a lithium-ion battery fire in their homes than on the TTC.
In a Nov. 20 letter to the TTC board, TTCriders, Workers Action Centre, Justice 4 Workers, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and Cycle Toronto said the ban would put gig workers at risk.
"Gig workers are precarious and mostly racialized and migrant workers, including international students, refugees and undocumented people," the letter reads.
"Gig workers are not afforded the same employment rights and protections as other workers, and this policy will reduce their access to transit, further entrenching the systemic inequality."
Report found ban could affect marginalized groups
The ban comes after an e-bike caught fire on a subway train as it approached Sheppard-Yonge subway station on Dec. 31, 2023. According to a TTC staff report, three people were taken to hospital with injuries. A subway car sustained minor damage, the report says.
It also comes after the board received a report, written by the TTC's chief people and culture officer Shakira Naraine, that said low-income individuals and marginalized groups would be disproportionately affected by a proposed seasonal ban on electric bikes and scooters.
The report said e-bikes are a "readily available and affordable" form of commuting for low-income individuals, and alternatives may be seen as less economically viable and convenient.
The ban could result in loss of income, reduced efficiency and decreased autonomy for gig and delivery workers, it added.
In October, the board was presented with a report that recommended a ban on lithium-ion battery powered mobility devices from TTC vehicles and stations each year from Nov. 15 to April 15, following concerns over potential fire hazards.
The board decided to refer the report to the TTC's racial equity office for a review of how the ban might affect gig workers and disadvantaged groups. Naraine's report followed.
Metrolinx allows "permissible e-bikes" on its vehicles if they have battery and electrical system comply with standard UL or CE requirements.
"CE" stands for Conformité Européenne certification, which signifies that products sold particularly in Europe have been assessed to meet high safety, health, and environmental protection requirements, according to the European Union.
"UL" stands for a certification by the Underwriters Laboratories Of Canada, an independent organization that conducts product safety testing, certification, and inspection.
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With files from Samritha Arunasalam and The Canadian Press