Ottawa residents will soon see e-scooters roll out across the city again for the spring and summer, but with 24-hour availability and in more neighbourhoods.
In March, the city’s public works and infrastructure committee unanimously approved a five-year extension for electric scooters on Ottawa roads. Additionally, councillors supported continuing to contract Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility to offer e-scooter rentals to the public from April 30 to Nov. 15.
The committee’s decision was unanimously backed by city council on April 16.
Jacob Lane, a fourth-year student at Carleton University and regular e-scooter user, said the extension was welcome news.
“At a time when OC Transpo is more useless than anything, (e-scooters) are an easy way to get somewhere specific,” he said.
The city plan is implementing some new – and old – rules riders must follow when taking to the streets.
While e-scooters will continue to operate within the deployment area bordered by St. Laurent Boulevard to the east, Rideau River/Carling Avenue to the south, Churchill Avenue to the west, and the Ottawa River to the north, staff recommended gradually expanding the deployment zone this year.
“It is anticipated that the expanded deployment zone would extend outward from the 2024 deployment zone,” staff said in a report for the committee. “But (the zone) could also include Business Improvement Areas, town centres, and areas in proximity to rapid transit stations.”
The report added: “As the service area expands, the providers will need to dedicate additional resources for public outreach and management of issues. A phased-in launch will be required to allow time to implement localized parking solutions and other geofencing requirements.”
Austin Spademan, head of government relations for Bird Canada, said he hopes the expansion will include National Capital Commission pathways.
Currently, Carleton University students interested in taking e-scooters to class along the NCC-owned Rideau Canal Pathway are barred from doing so.
As a result, Spademan said Bird Canada has heard numerous “horrifying experiences” of students riding e-scooters along a busy Bronson Avenue.
“If we could unlock the NCC pathways to have e-scooters get from point A to point B in Ottawa safely, and be effectively separated from cars, that is what people crave,” said Spademan, adding that “people across this city flock to streets that have separated bike infrastructure for this reason.”
Lane said developing infrastructure for scooting on high-traffic roads is another option.
“Something like a bike lane for scooters would be amazing so you have somewhere safe to ride,” Lane said. “Right now, Ottawa is not the best for e-scootering.”
Nighttime riders will also enjoy extended hours for e-scooter use this year.
With e-scooters to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the report explained that “many riders have expressed an interest in having the service available 24/7 to help with their commute or because they feel safer riding than walking alone.”
The report noted that “extending the operating hours to 24/7
would bring Ottawa into alignment with other Canadian cities such as Mississauga,
Hamilton, Brampton, Oshawa, Ajax, and Windsor.”
The City of Ottawa “has been the only Canadian city to operate with restricted operating hours,” the report stated. “However, the City will maintain the option of re-introducing operating hour restrictions if safety or other concerns materialize.”
However, Lane said an extension to e-scooter hours could be “concerning.”
“I’ve heard of some people using these e-scooters intoxicated at night, which could get dangerous,” he said.
The staff report did indicate that the Byward Market — a nighttime hot spot — would be excluded from 24/7 service and subject to more restricted operating times.
Late-night drinking and scooting is not the only safety concern raised about e-scooters in the capital.
According to the report, there continue to be “issues around sidewalk riding and improper parking.” Advocates for people living with disabilities, including visual impairment, have expressed concerns for years about the danger posed by improperly parked e-scooters.
However, the report stated that city data and resident feedback show “consistent improvement year over year.”
The City of Ottawa’s analysis of e-scooter data last year indicates that sidewalk-riding decreased by 17 per cent, while improper parking decreased by 1.3 percentage points from 2023 to 2024. Average ridership per day, on the other hand, increased by about 20 per cent over the same period.
Spademan said he attributes these findings to more designated parking areas and developing technology.
“We’ve made a lot of technological enhancements specifically designed for Ottawa, including a sound the [e-scooters] will emit continuously while riding to warn pedestrians.”
Bird Canada is also slated to roll out an “AI-driven” update this summer, Spademan added, which will attempt to dissuade riders from scooting on sidewalks.
It uses geo-fencing technology, a virtual “fence” that triggers a response when the scooter enters a sidewalk.
In this case, Spademan said the response is a verbal warning “telling the rider to get off the sidewalk.”
As part of a renewed pilot project spearheaded by the province, which requires the City of Ottawa to opt in, Lane said he hopes the e-scooter program stays for good.
“I mean, we don’t need to keep experimenting with e-scooters,” Lane said. “I want to see them keep this program in place.”
