MPs and safety experts are demanding that delivery companies such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats be held accountable for couriers using illegal, modified e-bikes, after an Express investigation exposed the widespread practice.
Footage captured by the Express showed riders using hand throttles to propel bikes without pedalling, a feature that makes them not road-legal, according to Peter Eland, Technical and Policy Director at the Bicycle Association.
Unregistered and uninsured e-motorcycles
“This makes them in effect unregistered and uninsured e-motorcycles,” Eland said. “The widespread use of this type of vehicle for deliveries, especially when poorly ridden, is dangerous and gives a really damaging impression of e-bikes.”
Eland added that his group had urged the Government to hold delivery app operators accountable for ensuring that deliveries are made only by legitimate vehicles.
During a visit to Hounslow Town Centre last week, couriers were observed using motorcycle-style hand throttles to run red lights and cut through pedestrianised zones while delivering orders for Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats.
Residents call for strict ban
Fearful residents are calling for a strict ban on these modified vehicles, which combine the heavy tyres and powerful electric motors of a motorbike with standard push-bike pedals. Accidents in the area have been rife, and two years ago a 62-year-old woman was killed nearby in an e-bike hit-and-run.
When approached about the legality of their vehicles, several riders said they did not speak English, while others said they were unaware of UK road regulations. Many rode without helmets, one courier wore flip-flops, and another sped past on a delivery with a broken pedal dangling from his bike frame.
Khalid Karimi, who owns a local Hounslow e-bike repair shop, said: “Nine out of 10 of the bikes on the high street are illegal. [But] the riders can’t do 10 to 12-hour shifts delivering food without using illegal bikes. It’s not physically possible. I just fix the bikes, and I see legal and illegal ones. They all know the rules.”
Political response and enforcement calls
The issue extends beyond high streets to distribution hubs. Reporters monitoring a Deliveroo “dark kitchen” in Acton witnessed multiple riders picking up orders on non-compliant, throttle-assisted bikes.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson said the investigation's findings showed the country is becoming “lawless”. He stated: “This is the result of politicians who have no idea what the real world looks like. This country is being turned lawless, and these illegal bikes are just a fraction of the wider problem.”
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden MP criticised ministers for failing to curb the issue: “Families should be able to walk through their town centre without being mown down by souped-up bikes. This problem has spiralled out of control, and Labour has done next to nothing about it.”
Holden emphasised Conservative proposals for harsher legal penalties on illegal riders. However, the Liberal Democrats argue enforcement must target the multi-million-pound corporations profiting from the trade.
“Delivery platforms might not directly provide these bikes to riders, but they have created the environment where using them is practically required to make ends meet,” said Olly Glover MP, the Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson.
“You can see it happening in every town and city in Britain, and people are frankly fed up. Multi-million-pound gig-economy platforms must be forced to take corporate responsibility for the safety, vehicle legality, and road conduct of the riders operating on their apps, including by ensuring that pay structures and work-allocation algorithms do not incentivise riders to exceed safe speeds or use illegal vehicles.”
Scale of the problem and industry response
The Metropolitan Police seized more than 4,000 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters so far this year, well surpassing the full-year total for 2025. A recent academic study showed that one major London A&E unit now admits an e-bike casualty every day, representing a sixfold increase in three years.
According to Edward John Charles Betts, 37, a delivery driver in Merseyside, couriers on e-bikes have been wreaking havoc in the North West too. “We hate them,” he told the Express. “They've destroyed the industry and give us all a bad name. None of them follows road rules; they literally will just ride out in front of traffic, go the wrong way round one-way systems and ride through town centres when they're not meant to be. But it never gets policed.”
Betts added that the issue is deeply linked to economic exploitation: “The e-bikes go hand-in-hand with illegal working practices because of the rock-bottom rates these riders take. A guy on an illegal e-bike will accept £2.75 to drop off a meal. A driver like me, who pays proper vehicle insurance and tax, simply can’t afford to compete with that.”
The law states that, other than a few minor exceptions, an e-bike is illegal if it propels itself faster than walking speed without pedalling, assists at speeds above 15.5 mph, or has a motor over 250W.
In response to this investigation, a Deliveroo spokesperson said: “The safety of our riders and the public on the roads is a priority for us, which is why we are piloting new speed detection technology to help us proactively identify when a rider is sustaining speeds that a legal e-bike could not reasonably reach, and we will take action.”
An Uber Eats spokesperson said the firm had a number of partnership initiatives to improve road safety education and “use technology to detect trip speeds that may be inconsistent with a legal e-bike, and take action against any courier found to be in breach of our clear community guidelines or acting unlawfully.”
Following the report, Just Eat said it would issue a reminder of “high standards to all couriers delivering across West London including Hounslow Town Centre.” A spokesperson for the firm said: “The behaviours described are completely unacceptable and in clear breach of the service agreement that all couriers delivering on behalf of Just Eat must sign. While most deliveries are completed by car, over the last year we have significantly increased our focus on e-bike safety communications, including the dangers of illegal modifications.”
Supt Luke Baldock, the Metropolitan Police’s tactical lead on e-bikes, added: “We need retailers and online marketplaces to act responsibly by not selling illegal e-bikes, scooters or modification kits which are unsafe. We are continuing to look at whether targeted regulation could support policing to act on Londoners’ concerns and help to make our streets even safer.”
Cllr Salman Shaheen, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Public Realm at Hounslow Council, said: “People should be able to walk through our town centres without feeling unsafe because of dangerous, illegal e-bike riding. We know this is a real concern for residents and they’re right to expect action.”
