Ottawa's E-Scooters Are Getting Delayed & You May Have To Wait A Hot Minute To Ride
Cancelled meetings are only one of reasons for the delay.
If you live in Ottawa, you may be wondering when you can hop on the bright green, orange, and black e-scooters this year. Or, perhaps, why the scooters haven't been blocking your paths just yet. But that's because they've been delayed.
The City of Ottawa said there are several reasons why its Electric Kick Scooter Pilot Project has been stalled, including an extended consultation with the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
This time last year, Ottawa's e-scooters had already hit the roads. More specifically, according to the CBC, they were already in people's way in late May 2021.
The City told Narcity that the 2021 e-scooter report was moved from a meeting scheduled in February to March. Discussions were also two weeks behind schedule because of a cancelled council meeting.
"Additionally, as a result of the extended length of the 2021 e-scooter season approved by Council, staff required further time to complete data analysis and finalize all recommendations in time for the originally-scheduled report in February," said Heidi Cousineau, Program Manager for Ottawa's Neighbourhood Traffic Calming, in an email statement.
Ottawa has recently seen a higher demand for e-scooters for e-scooters, especially for daily trips. The City stated that most people use the e-scooters to run errands, attend social events, head to appointments, work, and other activities.
In October of 2021, the City reported that over 123,000 riders took well over 452,000 trips. And there were 1,200 shared e-scooters on the road from companies that include; Bird Canada, Lime and Neuron.
But the City also admits to receiving complaints about the e-scooters that were being ridden on sidewalks where they weren't supposed to be, and, ofcourse, where they've been frequently parked, just about everywhere.
Cousineau says that the proposal process for the e-scooters started back in March. However, as of right now, the City is selecting which e-scooter companies will be approved for this year. Cousineau says the City will give an update in the coming days.
"The date for the official launch of the season is being determined and will be shared once more information is available," she says.
So, fingers crossed that they come sooner rather than later but also that they won't just be lying all around town.