Event Recap: E-Bike Battery Safety Webinar
October 17, 2025
On Wednesday, October 15th, A Better City convened a presentation on micromobility and lithium-ion battery fires. We are confident in the transformative potential of micromobility, helping to reduce congestion and pollution in our densest areas. Here in Greater Boston, the use of e-scooters, bikes and e-bikes—whether personally owned or shared through Bluebikes—continues to grow. Yet, we know that micromobility parking and charging policies vary widely among members of our Transportation Management Associations. We’ve sought for a long time to develop clear guidance for developing campus micromobility policy that is driven by facts and science, not the news cycle. Lithium-ion battery fires are high-profile and scary and can lead to a distorted perception of how common they are which can blunt the adoption of this type of mobility. We are hopeful that the potential severity of these fires motivates our membership to seriously consider their micromobility policies and invest in mobility in a way that makes their communities safer, and more mobile.
In this session, we were grateful to have the expertise of Electric Avenue, a New York City-based micromobility consulting group, and Laura Kavanagh, former Commissioner of the New York Fire Department, who helped guide us through:
- The root causes of lithium-ion battery fires and the scale of the issue
- Ways that large organizations and properties can mitigate their risk without stifling micromobility
- Emerging standards in third party certification
- A brief overview of new technologies and services that are available in this space
We were excited by the interest and attendance of nearly 60 members from a broad swath of industries which demonstrated the timeliness and relevance of the topic. You can view a recording of the session by clicking on the image above. Total running time is ~70min which includes the main presentation and subsequent question and answer segment. You can provide feedback on the session through this survey hosted by Electric Avenue. We are considering additional events to focus more deeply on this issue so please reach out to TDM Director, Scott Mullen directly at mully@abettercity.org with any suggestions.
Webinar Recording:
Slide Deck:
