Overview
- Deliveroo announced on Friday that it is rolling out detection technology to flag riders travelling faster than a legal e‑bike or bicycle reasonably could and that riders may be removed from the platform if issues continue or they knowingly registered the wrong vehicle.
- The detection uses telematics and speed‑flagging to spot anomalies that suggest an e‑bike has been fitted with aftermarket components that let it exceed legal limits for power or speed.
- Under UK rules a legal e‑bike must only give assistance while pedalling, cut out at 15.5mph, and have a motor no greater than 250 watts, rules Deliveroo says are being bypassed by conversion kits sold online.
- Emergency services and transport bodies have backed Deliveroo's call, with the London Fire Brigade citing a rise in battery and conversion‑related fires and local police conducting seizures of illegal e‑bikes during enforcement operations.
- Deliveroo has asked the Department for Transport to ban unsafe conversion kits, a step that could shift some enforcement from local policing to regulation and would affect riders who rely on cheaper aftermarket motors and uncertified batteries.