E-scooter program given go-ahead by transportation committee for 2022, awaits council approval

The Electric Kick Scooter Pilot is on the right path to coming back to Ottawa for the 2022 season. 

The transportation committee approved the 2022 pilot at its meeting on Wednesday, March 2, with some changes to improve the program and address complaints. 

Trip data and public feedback gathered in 2021 showed that shared e-scooters gave a convenient mobility option that some residents used to replace short car trips, the City said. 

Demand for e-scooters increased last year, both in total trips taken and average daily trips. 

The changes

Changes to the proposed 2022 would address the most common complaints of sidewalk riding and improper parking, and improve reporting, monitoring and enforcement.

Staff would report back at the end of the 2022 season with recommendations for the future of the program.

“It is recognized that improper riding and mis-parking of e-scooters can have an impact on accessibility and safety,” the report said. “Although the percentage of complaints related to e-scooters in relation to the total number of rides is very low, these issues remain a top concern when assessing the effectiveness of the shared e-scooter pilot program.”

That percentage, the City said the in report, is less than 0.5 per cent of total rides, but acknowledged that not all incidents of mis-parking or improper riding were reported. 

Changes to address the issues include: 

• Limiting the number of shared e-scooter providers to a maximum of two, selected through a competitive procurement process with a reduced combined total fleet size to 900 maximum e-scooters;
• Amending the free structure in the agreements with the e-scooter providers, to fund additional resources needed to effectively manage the program, while remaining revenue neutral in accordance with the City’s User Feeds and Charges Policy;
• Strengthening agreements with e-scooter providers aimed at enforcing a high compliant approach to improper riding behaviour and mis-parking;
• Streamlining the mechanisms used to report and track issues or concerns;
• Moving forward with sound emission improvements for shared e-scooters in operation

E-scooters, the City said, are not permitted to ride on sidewalks or on NCC pathways. Parking is geofenced which stops shared e-scooters from entering these areas. 

The operating speed of e-scooters is limited to 20 km/h. However, to ensure comfort and safety of other transit customers, they were geofenced to a maximum 12 km/h on multi-user pathways through transit stations.

And all e-scooters were outfitted with mandatory bells, kick stands, front and rear lights, and brakes in accordance with the provincial pilot regulation.

E-scooter program in 2021

Last year, the City had about 1,200 electric scooters on city streets by the spring. 

That was at least double the number of scooters from the year prior. 

The season started on May 28 and ended on November 30.

During this time, over 127,000 unique riders took more than 492,000 rides on the fleet of 1,200 e-scooters.

Throughout the season, an average of 2,600 trips per day were completed. During the busier part of the season — July and August — daily e-scooter usage average about 3,200 trips on weekdays and around 4,400 trips on weekends, with some weekends as high as 5,500 daily trips.

The average trip distance and duration was about 2 km and just over 14 minutes. 

A low rate of injuries involving the e-scooters were also reported during the season. 

“Having access to the shared e-scooters allowed some residents an alternative mode of travel to run errands, attend appointments, get to and from shopping, local businesses, and work or school,” the report outlined. “Some riders reported that they felt safer using e-scooters if they were traveling alone. Others reported using them to connect to other forms of transportation or completing journeys, and to reduce carbon emissions.”

Scooter companies include Bird Canada (with 410 e-scooters), Lime (with 320 e-scooters) and Neuron Mobility (with 470 e-scooters).

The new season could start as early as May 15, depending on the weather conditions and following the conclusion of street sweeping operations, and run until November 15.

The recommendations from Tuesday’s meeting require approval and will be reviewed by City Council on Wednesday, March 23.