E-scooters arrive in Regina as Saskatoon hits riding milestone - Action News
Home WebMail Thursday, November 14, 2024, 01:19 AM | Calgary | 6.7°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Saskatchewan

E-scooters arrive in Regina as Saskatoon hits riding milestone

E-scooters are now available to rent in Regina, with riders having the option of using offerings from two companies, Neuron and Bird. Meanwhile, Saskatoon has hit the 100,000-kilometre milestone for e-scooter use.

Regina joins Saskatoon in welcoming Bird and Neuron rentable e-scooters to city

Ten e-scooters that are either tangerine tangerine orange or grey are lined up on a sidewalk in a downtown area. Some have black helmets hanging from them.
Regina is gradually releasing hundreds of e-scooters into the city. (Natascia Lypny/CBC)

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters launched the city'srentablee-scooter service Wednesday in Victoria Park, with people riding and testingthe scooters soon after.

The city chose Neuron and Bird the same companies offering e-scooters in Saskatoon as its official vendors.

According to Masters, the citywill releasehundreds of e-scooters gradually as the program advances.

"The City of Regina takes recreation pretty seriously," said Masters. "We did decide,quite unanimously,that it was a convenient, sustainable and fun way with e-scooters to get around ourcity."

Masters said the rental options are in addition to Regina city council already approvingthe use of private e-scooters in April.

Mayor Sandra Masters is standing with Victoria Park and e-scooters behind her.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said the e-scooter program will provide residents with a fun and convenient mode of transportation. (CBC News)

The rentable devices are allowedon roads with speed limits of 50 kilometres or less, and on multi-usepathways. However, they are not allowed on sidewalks and are limited 24km/h on roadways and 15km/hr on pathways.

Riders are required to be at least 16 years old and helmets are mandatory.

The Neuron e-scooter costs $1.15 to unlock and$0.39 cents per minute of operation.

Masters said Regina administration looked to Saskatoon for best practices with the e-scooters, since a similar program rolled out thereabout one month ago.

Saskatoon experienced issues with inaccurate geo-fencing, and scooters incorrectly parked or obstructing pathways.

"I think Bird and Neuron are both really aware of the geo-fencing issue, and so there is testing that's been done," said Masters. "We know it's rolling out new and we expect some issues."

Milestone in Saskatoon

Four bright orange e-scooters are sitting on the grass with helmets hanging from the handle bars.
Saskatoon's two-year e-scooter pilot began May 18. (Trevor Bothorel/CBC)

Since Saskatoon launched itse-scooter pilot program in May, Neuron scooters have rackedup a total of 100,000 kilometres.

Despite the success of the program, there are still issues surroundinggeo-fencing and parking.

"We take our rider feedback and then we adjust the riding areas accordingly," said Isaac Ransom, the head of Neuron corporate affairs. "Sometimes it can be a little frustrating if you think you should be able to take the device on the sidewalk, when in fact you actually can't."

Ransom said the key to fixing parking problems is education, which the company doesthrough pop-up "SafeScoot" tents, where it informs and talks withpeople who are curious about the scooters.

Isaac Ransom stands with a bright orange vest on in front of a school building.
Although Neuron didn't have specific numbers, Isaac Ransom, the head of corporate affairs, says several people have been kicked off the app so far, but the majority of riders abide by the rules. (CBC News)

Neuron recently updated its fleet'sgeo-fencing, so a scooter should automatically detect if it is being used on asidewalk and slow down.

To prevent riders from breaking the rules with things like parking, the company hasa "two strike, you're out" rule, whichcan result in aban.

"We start with education where they get a prompt from our customer service, and then if further action is required in the future, we'll take that."

So far, several people have been banned, according to Ransom, but the majority of riders are abiding by the rules.

"Not only does the scooter tell you not to do certain things, but in app there's anumberof prompts as well, which speak to how to appropriately park," said Ransom.

Neuron has a sanitization schedule for their helmets and e-scooters. Ransom said they use ahospital grade disinfectant and also regularly change out the helmets.

With files from Ethan Williams