Rental e-scooters return to Saskatoon streets

The arrival of warmer weather means the gentle whirr of electric scooters can once again be heard on Saskatoon's streets and pathways.

The city's pilot program to test out rental e-scooters will continue in 2024, after the devices were introduced last year. The city chose two companies, Neuron and Bird, to operate a combined rental fleet of around 500 e-scooters.

Scooters can be rented using the respective companies' smartphone apps.

In a media release announcing that its scooters were being put back on the road this week, Neuron shared some data from its first year of operations.

The company reported that riders used its scooters to travel a total of 280,000 kilometres in 2023, and 54 per cent of those rides were used to replace a trip that would otherwise have been taken in a car.

According to the release, six out of 10 scooter trips led people to make purchases at local businesses, resulting in average spending of $58 — which adds up to about $7.3 million in economic activity.

The city has imposed conditions on the rental scooter program, mandating that riders be at least 16 years of age; anyone under 18 needs parental consent.

Helmets are required, and discounts are offered to those who use the app to submit photos of themselves wearing them.

The scooters are also equipped with technology meant to restrict their operation to bike lanes, pathways and streets with speed limits of 50 km/h or slower. The devices are also meant to be capped at a maximum speed of 24 km/h.

E-scooters are a relatively new form of transportation in Saskatchewan, but some lawyers in the province have previously warned residents that an e-scooter is considered a “conveyance” under the Criminal Code, meaning operators are subject to criminal liability and other legal consequences for improper use, including impaired driving.

While the city's program allows rental scooters in Saskatoon, privately owned e-scooters remain illegal for use on city streets and pathways.

City staff in October heard concerns from council members at a meeting of city council's transportation committee that private e-vehicles are already becoming a common sight on roads and walkways.

The committee heard that city planners expect to present council with a proposed regulatory framework governing electric-powered scooters, bikes, skateboards and other forms of “micro-transport” sometime during the 2024-25 budget cycle.