Bird Canada headed this way with flock of powered scooters
Fans say they’re an affordable, environmentally friendly part of transportation in a modern city. Critics have accused them of “terrorizing” San Francisco, and mocked them mercilessly on Instagram. They still often operate against the law. But get ready, Toronto — rental batterypowered e-scooters could soon be swarming city streets and sidewalks.
California-based e-scooter rental company Bird confirmed Thursday that it’s expanding operations into Canada. Backed by financing from Toronto Raptors founder John Bitove, the initial launch for Bird Canada will be in Calgary and Edmonton, but a top executive says the company is aiming to come to Canada’s biggest city as soon as possible.
“We’d love to be in Toronto tomorrow. Talk to your city councillors,” said Bird Canada CEO Stewart Lyons in an interview. “If we could get something by the end of summer, that would be great.”
Riders in the100-plus cities where Bird operates use an app to locate and unlock the nearest available e-scooter.
Riders then pay $1.15 to start, plus 35 cents per minute. The scooters can reach a top speed of 25 km/h, making them popular with urbanites who want something more convenient than a bike but don’t need a taxi or an Uber.
The problem is fitting them into already chaotic urban environments. Under Bird’s “dockless” rental model, users can park the scooters wherever they want, so they tend to clutter up sidewalks. There’s also the issue of where they can be used: Dodging around parked cars on the roads? Or whizzing past pedestrians on sidewalks?
Right now in Ontario, e-scooters are ineligible for use on roads under the provincial Highway Traffic Act — although that may change. In Toronto, use on city sidewalks isn’t permitted, but that is also under review. The only place where riders can use them is on private property, if the property owners give the go-ahead.
Lyons, a veteran Canadian executive, says that’s one reason they’re launching in Alberta — he anticipates that exceptions to provincial regulations requested by Calgary and Edmonton will be granted soon, and he hopes to launch in those cities by early July.
“Alberta is ahead of the curve, from a regulatory point of view. They wanted it more,” said Lyons, adding that Edmonton and Calgary will each get between 500 and 1,000 scooters.
Bird isn’t the only e-scooter company setting up shop in Canada. Its smaller competitor Lime is currently running a trial in the Waterloo region, and it’s also hoping to set up shop in Toronto.
“We’ve been in close contact with the City of Toronto and appreciate their interest in exploring greener, more affordable and equitable transportation options. ... We’re excited about the opportunity to serve the community and look forward to continuing our conversations with the city,” said Chris Schafer, senior director of strategic development at Lime.
In San Francisco, where the Wall Street Journal accused rental e-scooters of “terrorizing” the city because of their ubiquity, one of the biggest concerns was sidewalk clutter. Users — and the company — have come under heavy criticism and the company was given a cease and desist notice by the San Francisco city attorney.
The clutter, which critics say can make getting around harder for people in wheelchairs or people pushing strollers, is a concern if the company moves to Toronto, said city councillor Jim Karygiannis, vice chair of Toronto’s licensing committee, which also deals with ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft.
“I’d like to see more details of how they’ll clear the clutter. That’s something we really don’t have a good picture of, and that’s a concern,” said Karygiannis, adding that the scooters simply aren’t as safe as bicycles. In U.S. cities where the scooters have launched, riders tend not to wear helmets, the scooters are not as visible as bikes on roads and they can be too fast for sidewalks.
A spokesperson for Mayor John Tory said e-scooters could be a positive addition to the city, but that there needs to be a solid plan in place.
“The mayor understands that e-scooters are an environmentally friendly transportation option that is inexpensive to users,” Tory spokesperson Lawvin Hadisi wrote in an email, adding that “there will need to be a careful and robust logistical plan in order for e-scooters to be integrated successfully into our transit, cycling and pedestrian system.” Hadisi pointed to a city infrastructure committee decision in April to study a potential regulatory framework for “low speed wheeled modes,” including e-scooters and wheelchairs.
A spokesperson for Ontario transportation minister Caroline Mulroney said the provincial government is considering changes to the rules, which could make e-scooters legal to use on the roads. “We are committed to reviewing options that will improve Ontario’s economy, while providing more choice to consumers. The province recognizes the importance of new vehicle technology, especially if it expands mobility options for Ontarians — but safety is our top priority. The ministry committed to reviewing the current rules of the road for cyclists, e-bikes and e-scooters,” said Chelsea Dolan.
Lyons says the company has increased its clutter-clearing efforts, including in San Francisco, which eventually relented and allowed a one-year pilot project for e-scooter rentals, but limited it to 1,500 scooters. When Bird was barred from taking part in the pilot, the company did an end run around the pilot’s rules and announced plans for a monthly rental program in the city instead. Still, Lyons insists the company wants to work productively with city licensing officials here.
“It really wouldn’t be in our interest to do something that would annoy the regulator. You can burn bridges doing it that way,” said Lyons.