E-scooter season kicks off in Ottawa

Electric scooter season has returned to Ottawa a month early.

Neuron Mobility, one of the companies operating the vehicles in Ottawa, says they are now back on city streets for a fourth year.

Hours have also been extended: riders will be able to hop on and off between 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.

This is the fourth year the city has taken part in the provincial pilot project, and Neuron says since 2021, its e-scooters have travelled over 520,000 kilometres around Ottawa.

The company says 41 per cent of all trips also replaced a journey by car, reducing an estimated 35 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

Neuron Mobility is also encouraging riders to visit its online ScootSafe Academy to earn free credits, and familiarize themselves with riding rules.

You can book a trip through the company’s app: it costs $1.15 to unlock the e-scooter and $0.42 per minute to ride.

The e-scooters will be available to rent until November 15th, at which point the existing pilot project expires.

City staff have said it is up to the province to extend it, but a city memo earlier this month said they have initiated the process of extending contracts with Neuron Mobility and Bird Canada.