Vancouver’s e-scooter trial limited to riders who can afford their own

Electric kick scooters will be allowed to legally cruise on streets and bike paths in several municipalities. Miranda Fatur has more on the benefits and challenges that come with e-scooters.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — If you’re excited to try out an electric scooter under Vancouver’s new pilot program — hopefully you have the cash to buy one yourself.

Share services, like we see with bicycles and cars in the city, are not included in the transportation trial. Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung says because of those limitations, it won’t be an accurate representation of how the scooters could be used by the average commuter.

“They can run up to $1,000 … it’s not cheap,” she says. “People are multi-mobil. Sometimes they’re taking transit, sometimes they are using a car, sometimes they have that first and last mile when having an e-scooter can really make a difference. So it does mean that the pilot is limited to those people that have the money to buy their own device.”

Kirby-Yung says we’re falling behind other cities like Calgary, where e-scooter use tripled after a share program was launched during the pandemic.

“I’m disappointed that it is limited to privately owned devices only, and that we are not piloting a share program which makes it more affordable and accessible for a lot of people,” she says.

But not all cities taking part in the project are going this route. The City of North Vancouver, for example, will be launching a share service for e-scooters.

The project will last three years and also includes the District of North Vancouver West Vancouver, Kelowna and Vernon.

Like e-bikes, people using electric kick scooters need to be 16 or older, wear a helmet, and follow the road rules for cyclists. But you don’t need a driver’s licence or insurance.

While motorized scooters are not currently allowed to cruise on roads or sidewalks, Josh Sanford with North49 Brands and Vintage Iron Cycles tells CityNews, he’s noticed more people turn to e-scooters as their primary mode for transportation. He says the biggest thing holding back the industry is unclear legislation.

“Having figured legislation going forward will definitely help people feel more confident on this. As well, being able to get out in a boat and be more socially distanced, staying away from things like public transit.,” he says.

North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Bowinn Ma says British Columbians are looking for new ways to get around.

“I have heard from many people in North Vancouver and around the province who are looking forward to embracing micro-mobility devices like electric kick scooters,” says Ma, who is also the Minister of State for Infrastructure.

Amendments to the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act in 2019 allowed communities to collaborate with the province. But before e-scooters can be legally used on roads, local governments must pass their own bylaws — specifying where they can be used.

“I expect that we’re going to be recommending to council where the current non-powered skates, skateboards and scooters are permitted — that they would be permitted in these same area so like on the local streets [for example] streets that don’t have like a lane line on them like a yellow or white line. And of course separated by bike facilities,” City of Vancouver’s Traffic And Data Management Winston Chou says.

The City of Vancouver is hoping to launch a trial of privately owned e-scooters by the summer.

“People want to use these devices, and we’re going to see more of them with… weather permitting that. So we’re going to want to get this out as quickly as possible over the next few months,” Chou adds.

But there are also safety considerations, like speed limits, on privately-owned scooters.

“With something like a share program, all of those devices can be preset to run at maximum speed… but you don’t have that same level of control over private devices.”

However, Chou says city staff in Vancouver will monitor potential safety issues.

“We’ll be working with police enforcement and, of course, our partners in health and ICBC to monitor whether or not there’s any safety concerns,” he says.

Kirby-Yung also points out the City of Vancouver spent millions of taxpayer dollars on the Mobi bike-share program, and says another could be launched at no cost to the city.

 

– With files from Mike Lloyd

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