Electric Scooters

[Peenermcnoober]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

How much $ to ride those e-scooter?

1.15 to start then 35c a minute for bird

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Helmets are only required for the few riders that are 16-18. Do you really think people should be riding on the sidewalk on e-scooters? That would be an absolute disaster. I say this as an avid e-scooter rider and owner of two of my own. Sidewalks are not the place for e-scooters.

My biggest complaint about our city's e-scooter policy is the ban on NCC pathways. Our MUP system is a mixture of City and NCC pathways, you really can't get around without using both in a lot of cases. I ride NCC pathways almost every day because I have to to get around, but I would love it if I wasn't always worried about getting a fine.

Depends where I guess. This is like riding bikes on the sidewalks. Should it be done downtown? No.

Would I want to ride my bike in a painted bike gutter on Ogilvie or St-Laurent? Heck no. I don't think that's the least bit safe. So I'm okay with e-scooters on the sidewalk where pedestrian density is low.

My biggest complaint is that they are left all over the place, mostly notably blocking sidewalks all over the place. I'm an inch away from actively moving them off sidewalks on to the streets. I think when they start bothering drivers, the city will take their haphazard management more seriously.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

I'm an inch away from actively moving them off sidewalks on to the streets. I think when they start bothering drivers, the city will take their haphazard management more seriously.

How about in a nearby car parking spot? Or just on the side of the road.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa's e-scooter project exposes enforcement gaps
We’ve heard countless concerns that users — in varying states of sobriety — are riding in places they shouldn’t, in ways they shouldn’t, and leaving scooters where they shouldn’t.

Mathieu Fleury
Publishing date: Nov 01, 2021 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read

The end of Ottawa’s second year of piloting electric-scooter technology can’t come soon enough for many.

Streets and sidewalks in the city’s core are littered with wayward wheels — a total of 1,200 e-scooters from three providers: Neuron, Lime and Bird. Abandoned e-scooters are, all too frequently, left by users to block shop entrances, sidewalks and crosswalks.

There’s no doubt that the e-scooters are popular. In the first year of the pilot project, more than 72,720 riders took more than 238,000 rides on 600 e-scooters provided by three vendors. And, I admit, e-scooters are a fun, relatively affordable option that’s proven more reliable, sadly, than our multi-billion-dollar light rail system.

But this pilot project has brought to light some major flaws and created real challenges, chief among them for people with mobility issues and accessibility needs.

When the city set up the pilot in spring 2020, I voiced my reservations and stressed the need for certain rules to ensure that fun for some didn’t make life more difficult for others. Since then, we’ve heard countless concerns that users — in varying states of sobriety — are riding scooters in places they shouldn’t, in ways they shouldn’t, and leaving them where they shouldn’t.

Several people have reported injuries related to the pilot e-scooters, and many more are likely going unreported. One injury is too many, when it could be avoided.

Councillors’ offices, including mine, and the city’s 3-1-1 call centre have relayed thousands of formal complaints about parking and other issues. That’s on top of the anecdotal, informal complaints we hear almost daily.

Worse still, the pilot has laid bare a major gap in enforcement. Essentially, because of outdated provincial laws, police don’t have an efficient mechanism by which to enforce the rules of the road during the pilot project.

Meanwhile, regardless of whether there would ever be enough bylaw officers to enforce parking rules in real time, the city’s bylaw department is not mandated to enforce the program. That is the real issue: it’s the city’s traffic services section that is in charge of enforcement, and it does not have a real-time response team.

So the companies involved in the pilot are basically left to self-govern. To its credit, Bird has proven most responsive of the three in dealing with residents’ concerns in real time, through rider fines and scooter removal.

Where do we go from here? If the city is going to allow e-scooters to move from pilot programs to becoming permanent parts of our transportation mix, we need to address certain key things. I believe this is possible.

Perhaps the “Peter Parker Principle” should be applied: With great power comes great responsibility. And the city must be a central part of this program.

To make this work, city departments need the tools and resources to track complaints and respond quickly. That may mean seizing abandoned scooters and fining companies — as we do with grocery carts, for instance.

It may mean requiring companies to disclose more ride data and to invest in various safety measures and better GPS tracking system mapping (e.g. lane direction and sidewalks).

It should mean expanding bylaw officers’ powers to cover scooter-parking enforcement.

It should also mean more rider awareness resources so users can follow the rules of the road.

Ottawa is often tagged — unfairly, in my view — as a city fun forgets. E-scooters are fun. But it’s not fun when someone gets hurt. It’s not fun when a newly reopened store or restaurant has its entrance blocked. It’s certainly not fun when someone who uses a wheelchair can’t get down a sidewalk or through an intersection.

E-scooters are a disruptive technology but allowing them isn’t a licence to disrupt non-users’ daily lives. Fun comes with certain responsibilities, especially for policymakers.

If the city can’t assure that e-scooters are responsibly managed in future, including in the ways I’ve outlined above, I believe it’s time we kicked them to the proverbial curb for good.

Technology brought these challenges; it must also set the course to resolve them.

Mathieu Fleury is the city councillor for Rideau-Vanier ward, which includes Sandy Hill, Lowertown and Vanier.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/fl...forcement-gaps

[eltodesukane]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

... e-scooters are a fun, relatively affordable option ...

How much it cost to use? (cost per min or per km?)

[rocketphish]

E-scooter safety upgrades still not enough, say accessibility advocates
New noises, better technology won't fix bad rider behaviour, critics say

Kimberley Molina · CBC News
Posted: Nov 30, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Kate Riccomini's introduction to Ottawa's e-scooter pilot project came when she tripped over one.

Riccomini is partly blind. While she has some sight, her eyes are light-sensitive and she uses a cane to pinpoint anything that might block her way while she's out for a walk.

She and other members of the city's accessibility community are worried not enough is being done to keep pedestrians safe from tripping over improperly parked e-scooters or from being hit by riders.

The city's second e-scooter pilot project season ends Tuesday.

In advance of a potential third season, the city's three companies — Bird Canada, Lime and Neuron — say safety is their top priority. They've been in talks with Ottawa's accessibility community and e-scooter stakeholder groups about ways to make them safer, both for those with visual and mobility impairments and the general public.

Each company says they're testing or implementing various features expected to roll out in at least part, if not all, of their Ottawa fleets next season.

They include having scooters emit a distinctive noise to let people know they're approaching and improving "geofencing" technology — which uses GPS data to tell where the e-scooter is and can slow it down if it's somewhere it shouldn't be — to better detect when someone's riding on the sidewalk or parking in a restricted zone.

"All of the sounds that we've been shown fall short," said Riccomini, noting they're either too quiet for Ottawa's busy streets or too similar to the sounds emitted at city crosswalks.

Her biggest concern, however, is that each company uses a different sound, meaning anyone with a visual impairment would have to identify three different sounds to distinguish them from regular traffic noise.

Wayne Antle also says the new sounds and the geofencing technology aren't enough to tackle the single biggest problem — the "frequent and widespread violation of [the] rules" by riders.

The behaviour includes e-scooter users blocking the sidewalk or "whizzing" past pedestrians, said Antle, who heads up the Ottawa-Gatineau chapter of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians.

"It continues to be a real concern for our community, and I think it's a safety risk for all pedestrians really," he said.

"Unless there's a technological solution to address the issues ... I don't think that these e-scooters should be allowed to operate in the city."

Both Antle and Riccomini believe the ultimate responsibility to keep people safe lies with the City of Ottawa, which allows the program.

"Someone like myself cannot get out of the way of an oncoming e-scooter ... nor should I be required to," Riccomini said.

"I applaud the city for exploring options, you know, for trying things out. But in the end, fun and convenience cannot come at the expense of vulnerable road users like myself, like seniors, like people with disabilities. We can't be an afterthought."

Between May 28 and Oct. 27, the City of Ottawa received 130 calls to 311 and 394 email inquiries about e-scooters.

During that time, there were more than 470,300 individual trips totalling more than 878,000 kilometres, the city said.

In an email to CBC, Heidi Cousineau, the city's program manager for neighbourhood traffic calming, said the majority of inquiries relate to improperly parked e-scooters and sidewalk riding.

E-scooter users must follow a number of regulations that include not going faster than 20 km/h, only using them between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., and wearing a helmet if they're younger than 18.

Between July and September, Ottawa police handed out 14 tickets and 10 warnings to riders for things like riding on a sidewalk or another area where e-scooters aren't allowed, having another second person onboard and failing to keep a safe distance from pedestrians and other road users.

That last one resulted in a single warning.

"That seems low. I would have expected more," Riccomini said. "It makes me wonder how many officers were around to [conduct enforcement], how lenient they were being."

City staff are set to review this year's pilot project — including questions, complaints and feedback from stakeholder groups — before presenting a report to the transportation committee and council in February.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...says-1.6262662

[rocketphish]

Bird e-scooters take flight, successful season for Canada-owned company as Ottawa usage soars

By: Sarah MacFarlane, OBJ
Published: Jan 19, 2022 2:39pm EST



Ottawa residents were clearly revved up about electric scooters last year, with new statistics showing their usage soared as the vehicles expanded their area of operation.

According to Bird Canada – one of three e-scooter providers to the city in 2021 during the second year of a pilot project – usage of its vehicles increased by 52 per cent compared with 2020 to a total of 244,467 rides.

The company said the average ride last year covered two kilometres, with passengers travelling a total of 458,638 kilometers – double the total distance travelled in 2020.

“The significant increase in the number of trips taken and jump in the average distance travelled reinforces that Canadians are increasingly adopting e-scooters as a micro-mobility solution,” Stewart Lyons, CEO of Bird Canada, said in a news release.

“Given the immediate environmental and economic impact of e-scooters, we anticipate many more cities across the country to explore e-scooters pilots in the future.”

A total of 1,200 scooters were rolled out on Ottawa streets in 2021 from three providers – Bird Canada, Lime and Neuron. While the two-wheeled vehicles operated only inside the Greenbelt in 2020, the city expanded their deployment area in year two of the pilot project.

E-scooters, which have a speed limit of 20 km/h, are borrowed using a mobile app and must be parked in designated areas.

The city sees the vehicles as a form of “micromobility” that gives residents an alternative to using their private vehicles or ride-hailing services such as Uber, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Bird said riders across Canada last year saved about 147,000 litres of gas and prevented an estimated 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

https://www.obj.ca/article/local/bir...y-ottawa-usage

[eltodesukane]

How much $ to use one of those e-scooters?

[OTownandDown]

As someone who would LOVE to more easily commute downtown on a scooter, crossing the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, the scooter exclusion areas are amazingly annoying.

I can pick up a scooter in my neighbourhood, travel about 300m to the river's edge, where the scooter then beeps and shuts off, alongside a pile of other discarded, disabled scooters.

I then walk across the bridge, conveniently find another pile of frustratingly discarded scooters, then continue my ride on a new scooter to the edge of the canal, where it then beeps and shuts off, alongside a pile of other discarded, disabled scooters.

I then walk across the bridge, search around a bit in the downtown side for a new scooter, then continue my ride, being careful not to go anywhere near Sparks or Laurier, or 40-50 other random exclusion zones, lest my ride is again shut down by the geo-fence.

But Karen feels much safer because I can't scourge her on my scooter on a bike path...

The entire experience would seamlessly take about 10 minutes, and I would use it ALL the time, but it takes half hour given the blip bloops of the exclusion zones, thus my time is better served driving and finding a parking spot.

A great example was a Redblacks game this summer. I put up with the pain in the @ss experience to get down to the stadium, as described above. After the game, I ordered an Uber and contributed to the giant clog of traffic on Bank, instead of easily gliding down the empty pathway on my way home.

I'm pretty sure with the lack of anyone actually enforcing rules, I'll be buying a Segway E-scooter to commute on the bike paths in the summer. I'll join the people on e-bikes, and the odd chainsaw-motor pedal bikes.

Edit: yes, I can just bike, but when it's 35C (more often than not lately) I don't want to sweat in my work clothes, heading to a gov't office with nowhere to 'freshen up'.

[DarthVader_1961]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...erns-1.6365855

[rocketphish]

Accessibility advisers tell council to scrap e-scooter program, but city staff say keep rolling in 2022
On Wednesday, the transportation committee will be asked to make a recommendation to council.

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Feb 28, 2022 • 4 hours ago • 4 minute read



Faced with competing recommendations about the future of Ottawa’s e-scooter program, councillors will decide on Wednesday if the devices should be allowed on streets in 2022.

Most of council’s accessibility advisers want the pilot program stopped, while city staff want residents to keep scooting.

On Wednesday, the transportation committee will be asked to make a recommendation to council.

The e-scooter pilot program has operated for two years, allowing companies to deploy hundreds of rentable devices across downtown-area communities in agreements struck with city hall. According to the city’s data, more than 127,000 riders took more than 492,000 rides on e-scooters owned by Bird Canada, Lime or Neuron during the 2021 season.

However, the devices have added a nuisance for people blocked by lazily parked and illegally operated e-scooters, especially on sidewalks.

City staff have been weighing the public complaints about e-scooters against the popularity of the program.

The city received 422 emails containing 633 complaints related to the 2021 season. There were 161 unique senders. The 311 call centre received 143 complaints or inquiries. The three companies together received 1,443 complaints and inquiries about poorly parked e-scooters and 10 for sidewalk riding.

The city’s accessibility advisory committee has voted 7-1 to urge council not to allow the rented e-scooters in public places. The advisory committee wants the city to pull out of the provincial pilot program allowing municipalities to assess e-scooters.

“Our view is that there’s no way that we can regulate these scooters enough to make them safe enough for pedestrians with disabilities,” said Phillip Turcotte, chair of accessibility advisory committee.

“We just don’t see a way that can work.”

The report to transportation committee submitted by the city’s acting director of transportation planning, Jeff McEwen, says improper riding and parking of e-scooters “remain a top concern” in assessing the pilot program, but the city would tweak the program rather than scrapping it.

One proposed measure would decrease the number of available e-scooters to 900 during the 2022 season and have only two companies selected. In 2021, three companies collectively deployed up to 1,200 e-scooters after a competitive procurement process.

The city also wants to add more resources to manage the program using the fees collected from e-scooter companies.

As an added safety feature for 2022, e-scooters would need to emit a sound when they’re moving to alert people of the oncoming devices.

Turcotte said the proposed new measures aren’t enough. He pointed out that there hasn’t been consensus in the accessibility community about what kind of sound should be emitted from e-scooters.

The one dissenting vote on the accessibility advisory committee came from vice-chair Brian Wade, who believes the changes proposed by city staff, while aren’t perfect, adequately address accessibility concerns.

Wade said people in his disability community (limited mobility, multiple amputees) should have the right and choice to use tools “that aid in our independence and enjoyment of life.”

“My thought is that by banning the use of e-scooters you are in fact banning the use of these people’s mobility devices,” Wade said. “Because these are ‘non-traditional’ mobility devices, I am afraid that the rights of those that choose to use these types of mobility devices are not being respected.”

Wade said he believes bicycles pose just as much, or greater, risk as e-scooters and an accessibility discussion about banning e-scooters can’t come without a discussion about the dangers of bikes.

Despite his personal position on the e-scooter program, Wade said he supports the accessibility advisory committee.

If council OKs a third e-scooter season under the staff recommendations, it’s going to cost a lot more for companies to deploy e-scooters in 2022.

Many fees would double — each e-scooter would cost $100, plus a $20 “communications and engagement fee” for each device, and the application fee would be a flat $10,000 — and a new $130-per-device “compliance fee” would be added to the bill.

The city predicts revenue of $245,000 under the recommended fees. The money would be used to manage and enforce the e-scooter program.

Ankush Karwal, regional manager of Neuron, which hopes to be back on Ottawa streets in 2022, said the company has been doing much of what the city has been asking for through regulations, including testing sound-emitting technology on 100 e-scooters last year and making it easier for people to report poorly parked e-scooters.

Karwal said the new fees proposed by city staff likely wouldn’t result in higher ride charges for Neuron customers, but he noted that increased costs can impact work to improve the experiences of regulators and users.

“I think it’s important for cities to understand that it has to be economically viable for operators to run and for operators to invest in technology to make sure they’ve got the best technology in place for that particular city,” Karwal said.

Most of council has been supportive of the e-scooter program over the past two years. Only Coun. Catherine McKenney voted against the continuation of the pilot program ahead of the 2021 season.

jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...olling-in-2022

[rocketphish]

Transportation committee gives e-scooters the go ahead for another year
The e-scooter pilot program has operated for two years, allowing companies to deploy hundreds of rentable devices across downtown-area communities in agreements struck with city hall.

Blair Crawford, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Mar 02, 2022 • 34 minutes ago • 2 minute read



The city’s transportation committee got an earful of complaints about Ottawa’s two-year-old e-scooter program Wednesday, but in the end, voted to give the scooters another chance in the summer of 2022.

But the committee is putting Bird, Lime and Neuron, three companies operating the scooter rentals, on notice with tighter rules to address complaints about riding on sidewalks and illegal parking of the two-wheeled devices.

The vote came at the end of a marathon nine-hour meeting and followed a number of delegations who complained that scooters were a menace for those with disabilities. They complained about poorly parked scooters cluttering the sidewalks and bad riders posing a danger to others.

“Walking around the downtown core has been very challenging. I’ve regularly tripped over scooters, run into scooters, had scooters nearly run into me. Had them at the end of the walkway to my house,” said one delegate, Kim Kilpatrick, who is blind.

“I feel like it’s a matter of time before I get hurt or someone in my community gets hurt,” Kilpatrick said. “We’re putting up extra barriers to travel when I feel like there are already too many barriers.”

Officials from all three companies were on hand to answer questions from councillors, who at times had testy exchanges.

Only one public delegate spoke in support of the e-scooters, university student Claire Jarvis.

“I think they’re positive for people like me who don’t have as many options as those who can afford cars,” Jarvis said. “They’re cheaper than an Uber … and they’re really fun as well. I do realize it has a lot of negative effects on others, but they do benefit a lot of people.”

Committee vice-chair Jeff Leiper, who likes e-scooters so much he bought one himself, was the only councillor who voted to discontinue the program. Leiper cited the concerns raised about accessibility for his nay vote.

“I know I’m a big fanboy — I love these things — but I’m not going to be able to support this motion,” he said.

The e-scooter pilot program has operated for two years, allowing companies to deploy hundreds of rentable devices across downtown-area communities in agreements struck with city hall. According to the city’s data, more than 127,000 riders took more than 492,000 rides on e-scooters owned by Bird Canada, Lime or Neuron during the 2021 season. The average trip was for two kilometres and lasted 14 minutes. The busiest period for scooter use was between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The city received 422 emails containing 633 complaints related to the 2021 season from 161 unique senders. The 311 call centre received 143 complaints or inquiries. The three companies together received 1,443 complaints and inquiries about poorly parked e-scooters and 10 for sidewalk riding.

The matter will now go before city council as a whole for final approval.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...r-another-year

[rocketphish]

E-scooter program delayed in Ottawa, possibly until July
City waiting for companies to prove they can prevent riding and parking on sidewalks

Michelle Allan · CBC News
Posted: Jun 07, 2022 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The City of Ottawa imposed stricter regulations on e-scooter companies in 2022 to cut down on sidewalk riding and improper parking. That's at least part of the reason for a delayed start to this year's launch of the program.

The pilot project, which was extended for its third year by city council in March, had seen the e-scooters booted up on city streets around late May in 2021 and mid-July in 2020.

This year, however, work continues to sort through new rules.

Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said any company planning to launch in Ottawa has to use technology that can "significantly reduce, if not eliminate, sidewalk riding."

Leiper, who voted against the pilot project, said the city will select two companies to continue the pilot if they can prove their software is adequate, but he remains concerned about safety.

"I am cynical that the technology will work as advertised," he said.

Leiper said he believes the scooters will return by early July, but noted the city will see fewer of them compared to last summer.

Last year, Bird, Lime and Neuron operated e-scooters as part of the city's pilot, but it's not clear which of those two will return this summer. None of the three companies offered any clarity when contacted by CBC.

Accessibility advocates also remain skeptical about software upgrades protecting pedestrians.

The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau chapter of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, who is also blind, said he worries people with disabilities will be "used as guinea pigs" as companies test out new technology.

Wayne Antle also said concerns about sidewalk riding and parking have been ignored and advocates weren't allowed to provide feedback during the testing phase of the program.

"I don't trust this process," said Antle. "When you go to three pilots of something that puts vulnerable pedestrians in danger, you know, I think that that's a problem."

The City of Ottawa's program manager of neighbourhood calming, Heidi Cousineau, said the accessibility advisory committee was consulted and "significant time was involved" to make improvements for the 2022 season.

Cousineau also said the city is currently selecting companies for the summer and it will have an update in the coming days.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ayed-1.6477597

[OTSkyline]

I hope this doesn't kill the project or these companies' desire to continue to service the Ottawa market.

Was the pilot perfect? No, but I thought it was a great way to provide an additional recreational or transportation method (the last mile). I saw lots of users and had great experiences myself. Once again, red tape killing innovation and fun in the Capital

[J.OT13]

I prefer a system with docking stations. For me the big issue is scooters being discarded willy-nilly on sidewalks, blocking the way for those using mobility devices. Also not a fan of those riding on busy sidewalks, which is less of an issue with bikes (harder to ride on the sidewalks to begin with). That said, if the scooters could use NCC trails, maybe fewer would be riding the sidewalks, opting for the safer MUPs instead.

I know docking stations are imperfect, but they seem to offer a better balance.

[OTSkyline]

Would love to see some stats or data showing how many deaths or major injuries were caused by these in the past few years. I would suspect it be nil or negligible - especially compared to motor vehicles or even bicycles.

A few bad apples should not spoil the bunch. I agree a mix of enforcement & docking stations could go a long way to minimize issues moving forward; instead of having these companies redesign their entire tech.

[rocketphish]

After two controversial years, e-scooters to face their biggest test yet in 2022 season
When transportation committee and council voted earlier this year to extend Ottawa's e-scooter pilot project through 2022, they made it clear scooter providers and their riders were to be kept on a shorter leash.

Taylor Blewett, Ottawa Citizen
Jun 07, 2022 • 11 hours ago • 3 minute read



It’s been called the make-or-break year for e-scooters in Ottawa.

The past two pilot seasons have seen people flock to the devices for recreation and utility, enjoying a novel way to zip through the core of the city without having to walk, wait for a bus or burn gasoline. They’ve also been a hazard, as knows anyone who’s had to dodge an oncoming rider or confront a scooter abandoned in the path they’re trying to travel.

When transportation committee and council voted earlier this year to extend Ottawa’s e-scooter pilot project through 2022, they made it clear scooter providers and their riders were to be kept on a shorter leash.

The size of the scooter fleet will drop from 1,200 to 900 and only two companies, rather than three, are being permitted to participate in this year’s program. The city is in the process of selecting those, said neighbourhood traffic calming program manager Heidi Cousineau on Tuesday, and a launch date for the season still hasn’t been landed on.

To get a permit to participate in the 2022 pilot, e-scooter providers are supposed to have the capacity to give approval via their user platforms before riders can ditch their scooters at the end of the trip. They’re expected to block sidewalk riding via “geo-fencing” in their GPS systems, address the issue of riders travelling illegally in the wrong direction on city streets, and include continuous sound emitters on all scooters.

It still wasn’t enough to get everyone on board. Kitchissippi ward Coun. Jeff Leiper was the only member of transportation committee to vote against another summer of e-scooters, despite being a big fan of the devices, and even owning one himself. He explained Tuesday that he wasn’t confident there would be a resolution to the sidewalk-riding and parking problems that had plagued the pilot so far.

Phillip Turcotte, chair of the city’s accessibility advisory committee, said he and fellow members are hopeful the technology changes will be effective but hadn’t been convinced when the matter went to council for approval.

It’s now in the hands of city staff –- who recommended continuing the program, with changes, for another year -– to vet the ability of e-scooter providers to meet the council-approved conditions for their participation. And the impression staff left Turcotte with was that if they couldn’t find a provider able to deliver the promised technological solutions on day one, there wouldn’t be a scooter season this year.

As someone with cerebral palsy who walks using leg braces and sometimes uses a mobility scooter, Turcotte can’t dodge an e-scooter speeding along the sidewalk. If one of the devices is abandoned where it shouldn’t be, and he’s using his mobility chair and doesn’t have room to get around, “that means that my trip stops there,” he explained.

“It has an impact on how I can experience my city and feel safe in my city.”

Something heartening for Turcotte is that it seemed city councillors, in debating another year of the program, understood the serious safety concerns of people with disabilities. He believes for a good number of those council members, it’s a make-or-break summer for e-scooters in Ottawa.

Brian Wade has a similar mindset. The lone member of the accessibility advisory committee to back another scooter season, as well as its vice-chair, Wade said he thought it was too soon to terminate the pilot, which has mobility benefits as well as drawbacks, and wanted to give the city a chance to address concerns raised.

“This year is definitely going to be the telling year.”

As a council member, Leiper said he’s open to having his mind changed by the coming e-scooter season and hopes to see previous problems reduced to a level that will allow him to support their continued presence in the city.

“I want scooters to succeed. They are potentially a very important part of our transportation mix, addressing climate change goals, addressing congestion in the city … there’s a really compelling case for them and the role that they could play in making it a better transportation system for all of us in the city.”

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...in-2022-season

[OTownandDown]

At least private scooter ownership is on the rise.

Headline should read:

"Ottawans afraid of letting young, hip people using last-mile mobility devices that 90% of large Cities around the world have embraced, after botching rollout of public transportation due to lack of faith in humanity, inability to envision obvious solutions to sidewalk blocking issue"

Given the many benefits of e-scooters, it is unfortunate that the trend in many cities seems to be banning or overregulating them. However, it is not surprising. When automobiles were first invented, many reacted with similar outrage at the seemingly “noisier, dirtier and more dangerous” vehicles, with Vermont even passing a law requiring someone to walk in front of a car waving a red flag at all times, and many cities banning the vehicles altogether.

More than a century later, it’s time we do better.

[J.OT13]

City should really be negotiating with the NCC to allow the rental scooters on their pathway system. That would help tremendously with many of the issues. Couple that with 0 tolerance enforcement of leaving scooters on sidewalks where they block the way.

[OTownandDown]

Has Bird been selling off their old scooter inventory that don't have all the ridiculous add-ons the City is demanding?

I see lots of black scooters with white front-posts zooming around the City.

How ironic that private scooter ownership pushes the industry further by showing that rules aren't really enforced.

#bestwaytotraveltheriversandcanalsinottawaisbyscooteronabikepath