E-scooter plan ready to roll in Edmonton, Calgary

Electric scooters are anticipated to hit the streets of Edmonton and Calgary as soon as early July with Bird Canada announcing it will be introducing its first fleet of e-scooters.

Toronto Raptors co-founder John Bitove is bringing Bird e-scooters to Canada to add a greater selection of environmentally-conscience and enjoyable transportation to cities across the country. Alberta’s two largest cities have been selected for the company’s pilot launch because the province is the closest in the country to introducing e-scooter regulations in the Alberta Traffic Safety Act.

“The launch will be in Alberta because Alberta is very forward-thinking ... Both Calgary and Edmonton have been pushing hard for this and they’ll be the first to adopt the new technology which is great for the province,” said Bird Canada CEO Stewart Lyons.

Lyons is optimistic they’ll be approved to launch in time for the Calgary Stampede, which begins July 5, and shortly after in Edmonton. The initial launch will see about 500-1,000 e-scooters in each city, spaces in each city to charge and repair the scooters and approximately 50 full-time and part-time employees between both cities.

They’ve already rented a space in Calgary, Lyons said.

He said the prices Bird Canada will offer are comparable to public transit as a short-distance transportation solution.

“It’ll be four or five dollars for a short-distance ride. It will be $1.15 to unlock the scooter and then it’s 35 cents per minute thereafter,” said Lyons.

The California-based company Bird has fared well in Denver, Colorado and Minneapolis which are smaller in population size but endure similar seasonal conditions. Bird’s scooters and technology have proven sturdy in winter climates, Lyons said.

“We will see a decline in ridership over the winter, which is to be expected, but we think on days when the ground is clear and there’s isn’t snow on the ground we will get some good ridership,” said Lyons.

“They’re effectively industrial grade so they were designed to operate in cities like Calgary or anywhere else in Canada.”

Lyons said he’s most excited that Bird Canada will be Canadian owned and operated after negotiating an exclusive license to use Bird’s logo, technology and scooters.

“It’s an easy, fun and enjoyable way to get around and Calgarians want that, as well as people in Edmonton. They’ve been buying e-scooters and ordering them online so this is filling a need and hopefully working with the regulators we can get people what they want quickly and efficiently,” said Lyons.