City councillor wants electric scooter share program in Vancouver (July 6, 2020) | Vancouver Sun | ESL Video (2024)

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I'd like to see a shared e-scooter program in Vancouver because it provides another mobility option for people. I think with COVID-19, we've seen how important it is to have people have reliable ways to get around the city, and we know that people are nervous about getting back on transit.

We also know that this can be a great compliment and the city is also undertaking a pilot of slow streets implementation, so streets that have a 30 kilometer limit. That's a great time to trial micro mobility devices. The City of Vancouver has a goal that by 2030, two-thirds of all trips that people make in the city will be done by active transportation, walking, or cycling, and so we can achieve that by providing more options for people.

Some of the data of cities that have implemented scooter programs show that a lot of folks that ride scooters don't necessarily ride bikes or they had never even tried the city's bike share. They may be a different customer, but also once people try the scooter, they will often also try the bike. It's not an either-or situation; people are different. Sometimes they take a car share, sometimes they ride a bike, sometimes they take transit. Also, people don't always live right near a transit stop, so this can really help in terms of multiple modes to get them where they need to go.

I think that a shared program is more accessible. What I'm concerned about is the city is proposing to do a pilot for only privately owned scooters, which means that you have to have about a thousand dollars to drop out of your pocket to purchase one, and times are tough for people right now. A lot of folks don't have that extra money laying around, but they can afford to use a shared service just like they use a shared bike or take a ride share or take a transit trip.

So, from an equity perspective, it's a much more affordable option. What I'm proposing is that, unlike the Mobi bike share where the city invested taxpayer dollars and public funds into that program, this be run by private operators on a cost recovery basis to the city. When you see programs in other municipalities like Calgary or Edmonton, there are fees that are charged, and those companies will typically pay a per company license fee to the city, they'll pay a security deposit, and then they will also pay a cost per scooter in order to operate. That can cover the cost of administration for the program.

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