Ottawa eyes extended hours, new neighbourhoods for e-scooters this summer

A young woman rides a scooter over a bridge in Ottawa. Leading e-scooter operator, Neuron Mobility, will be launching the 2023 riding season and returning its vehicles to Ottawa’s streets. (Neuron Mobility)

E-scooters could be rolling on Ottawa’s roads again this spring and summer, with electric scooters available to rent 24 hours a day and in more neighbourhoods.

A report for the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee meeting on March 27 recommends the city allow electric scooters to be used on Ottawa roads for another five years and continue to offer e-scooters for rent through Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility. If approved, the shared e-scooters will be available to rent between April 30 and November 15, with 1,000 e-scooters available.

The Ontario government launched a five-year pilot project for electric kick scooters to be used on municipal roads in 2020, allowing municipalities to opt in. While 2024 was set to be the fifth and final year allowing e-scooters to operate on municipal roads across Ontario, the Ministry of Transportation extended the project until November 2029 and allowed municipalities final say on whether to permit the two-wheeled vehicles to operate.

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Staff are recommending the city continue to allow electric scooters to operate on Ottawa roads, and to offer e-scooters for rent.

“E-scooters offer several benefits. They increase the travel options available to residents and provide an alternative to driving,” says the report for the committee. “They support local businesses, enhance connectivity to transit, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Over the initial five-year pilot, Ottawa residents have embraced the use of both private and shared e-scooters, and resident feedback demonstrates continued support for the pilot.”

The report says that while there continue to be consistent issues around riding e-scooters on sidewalks and improper parking, “City data and resident feedback has shown consistent improvement year over year.”

“The aggressive measures and restrictions that were implemented since 2022 such as the restrictive parking model, geofencing, and streamlined reporting appear to have made significant improvements to address these concerns as compared to initial seasons,” staff say.

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In 2020, the city launched a shared e-scooter program, with the scooters available for rent. The program was extended each year, and 2024 was to be the fifth and final year of the pilot project. In 2024, e-scooters were available to rent between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m., and in an area bounded by St. Laurent Boulevard in the east, Rideau River/Carling Avenue in the south, Churchill Avenue in the west and the Ottawa River in the north.

Last year almost 55,000 unique riders used the e-scooters, taking approximately 252,000 rides. The city saw an average of 1,200 trips a day on the vehicles. The busiest day was Canada Day, with approximately 3,600 trips on the e-scooters.

Staff recommend the city continue to offer shared e-scooters through the partnership with Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility, but with some adjustments to the program. The proposed changes include:

• Staff recommend expanding the deployment zone “incrementally, in consultation with the providers as well as ward councillors.” The report says the expanded deployment zone would extend outward from the 2024 deployment zone but could also include Town Centres and areas in proximity to rapid transit stations.
• The report recommends expanding the hours of operation to 24/7 moving forward, noting many riders have expressed an interest in expanded hours. Staff say there could be some restrictions in the designated area for use, such as the ByWard Market.
• The fleet size will remain at 1,000 e-scooters, with 500 vehicles each for Bird and Neuron. The report says should the deployment zone be extended to cover new neighbourhoods, an increase in the fleet size will be required. Providers will need to justify any increase in the fleet, according to the report.
• Staff recommend all measures implemented in 2024 to address concerns about e-scooters on the sidewalk and improperly parked scooters be maintained. That includes a fully restrictive parking model supported y the “newest technology” for e-scooter parking and a “zero tolerance” approach to sidewalk riding. The operators will be required to have large bilingual “No Sidewalk Riding” messaging on or near the floorboard of every e-scooter.

An end-of-season survey in 2024 found 58 per cent of respondents said Ottawa should continue to offer the shared e-scooters for rent.

“E-scooters were viewed as a convenient, cost effective and fun way to travel,” according to the survey.

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Tickets issued

The report says the Ottawa Police Service does not have the resources to allocate officers to daily e-scooter enforcement. During two safety blitzes and two targeted enforcement events last year, officers issued three moving violations and seven warnings for e-scooter infractions.

The two e-scooter providers issued 262 warnings and banned 12 accounts linked e-scooter riders for infractions last year, up from 23 warnings and four account bans in 2023.

The city received 438 service requests related to e-scooters last year and contacted providers 194 times to deal with illegally parked e-scooters.

Bylaw Services officers impounded three e-scooters due to mis-parking and improper e-scooter use, and five citations were issued to the providers for parking infractions totalling $825 in fines.

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Collisions involving e-scooters

A total of 12 collisions involving e-scooters were reported in Ottawa in 2024, up from nine collisions in 2023 and three in 2022.

Seven injuries were linked to the collisions involving e-scooters, and five collisions involved damage to property.