Edmonton: Two companies will rent electric scooters, but with conditions

Previously, service providers could obtain a license if they met the operating criteria. three companies, birdAnd gear And yarnShe has been working in Edmonton since 2019.

This year, the city is adopting new criteria for evaluating applications, including solutions proposed by companies to solve the problems of illegal parking and dangerous driving.

The City will only grant two operating permits and the successful bidders will be selected this month.

In addition, the duration of the operating license will be 20 months instead of 12 months to provide more certainty to service providers, says Jessica Lamari, director of Safe Mobility and City Traffic Operations.

At the start of the season last year, there were 4,000 electric scooters on the streets of Edmonton. The fleet was reduced to 1,500 mid-season due to citizens’ complaints.

This year, the city is keeping the fleet size at 1,500 or 750 motorcycles per supplier. Those are also allowed to offer up to 200 e-bikes each.

The size of the fleets was chosen based on Edmonton’s needs and is proportional to the size of fleets in other Canadian cities such as Calgary, Kelowna and Ottawa, explains Jessica Lamarie.

Bonita McBrian, Executive Director of the Association Downtown Business AssociationHe says that many problems arose with the introduction of electric scooters. Among other things, some users abandoned them in the middle of the street, which caused accessibility problems.

The companies saw some improvement last year when the fleet size was downsized. According to her, the new procurement measures are another positive step.

Over the past two years, some operators have shown themselves [plus] Willing to listen, experiment and add new features to solve these issues [que d’autres], as you say. She therefore welcomes the fact that the city has asked bidders to suggest solutions to problems it encountered during the early years.

indignant

Gail Martin, owner Wish List Gifts In Old Strathcona, electric scooters would have been banned.

I have witnessed many e-scooter offenses in Edmonton such as riding people on the sidewalk, getting drunk or dangerous overtaking. She was even beaten when she left her store.

With information from Stephen David Cook