Cambridge man who's family died in e-bike fire calls on government to invest in making the vehicles 'publicly available'
Scott Peden says the issue should have been addressed in the Chancellor's autumn budget
A Cambridge man is calling on the government to expand the availability of public e-bikes and e-scooters, hoping to prevent further tragedies linked to privately charged e-bikes in homes. Scott Peden lost his partner, two young children, and their family’s two dogs in a fire caused by an e-bike charging overnight at his home.
At his home on Sackville Close in the early hours of 30th June, Scott's partner, Gemma, 31, and their children, Lily, 8, and Oliver, 4, were all killed in the fire.
The blaze began when Scott’s e-bike, which he used for commuting, overheated while charging under the staircase.
After the original battery was stolen earlier in the year, Scott had replaced it with a less expensive alternative found online.
Following the fire, Scott was critically injured and spent over a month in hospital.
Scott is now raising concerns about the dangers of private ownership and charging of e-bikes and e-scooters, particularly with unregulated replacement batteries. He argues that increasing access to public, rentable e-bikes and e-scooters could reduce the need for individuals to bring them into their homes, significantly lowering the risk of fire.
“I am 100% behind the rentable ones,” Scott said. “These public e-bikes and e-scooters are treated in a safe environment, regularly maintained, and serviced by professionals. Privately owned e-bikes don’t receive that kind of care and maintenance, nor do they have the safety checks that could prevent tragic incidents like ours.”
Scott suggested that expanding affordable and accessible public options would deter private ownership, which he believes to be a safer choice. “The reason that people are buying e-bikes is because they’re not exactly the most expensive things in the world at the moment,” he explained. “But if we had more affordable public options, I think people would be far less likely to bring e-bikes into their homes and risk this kind of disaster.”
While supportive of public e-bike and e-scooter schemes, Scott remains sceptical of the government’s commitment to making them widely accessible. “It’s all about profit these days, and unfortunately, at the moment, it’s profit over life,” he said, noting that it took over 15 fatalities for the government to begin seriously addressing the issue.
Scott acknowledged that his proposal would require significant investment but emphasised the potential to save lives and reduce property damage costs. “It would save hundreds of lives and save millions of pounds worth of damage. It’s better to spend on safe public e-bikes than to pay to rebuild homes after fires caused by private e-bikes charging in unsafe settings.”
Cambridge has been active in promoting sustainable travel to reduce congestion and encourage eco-friendly transport, and Scott’s suggestion aligns with these goals. He hopes that increased access to rentable e-bikes and e-scooters could make such devices a safer and more practical travel choice without introducing fire risks into homes.