Ottawa is going to be e-scooter central. The City of Ottawa has just announced that following the selection of three shared e-scooter providers (Bird Canada, Lime and Neuron), e-scooters will start to roll out on Ottawa streets today to support essential travel needs. The service will operate until November 30, 2021.
Shared and private e-scooters offer residents a personal mobility choice that is supportive of physical distancing guidelines, makes connecting with transit easier and can reduce car trips, aligning with the City’s climate change objectives.
E-scooters can be found within the designated deployment area shown in the brown area below. This year’s pilot includes an increase in the number of shared e-scooters to 1,200 in an expanded central deployment area.
The 2021 pilot includes additional safety and accessibility features and is focused on reducing sidewalk riding and improper parking through a variety of mitigation measures and innovations deployed by the providers. Such innovations include:
- An automatic alert that tells providers if an e-scooter has remained tipped for a period of time so providers can check on the e-scooter.
- Different technologies to detect and prevent sidewalk riding.
- Technology that emits a constant sound, alerting pedestrians of the presence of an approaching e-scooter.
- Incentives for good parking behaviour.
- Some additional designated parking locations for e-scooters.
Shared e-scooter providers have committed to respond to misparked e-scooters within one hour. Residents can report misparked e-scooters and other concerns in the following ways:
- Call the provider directly. Each e-scooter has an English and French sticker on it with the company’s contact information. Bird Canada can be contacted at 1-866-205-2442, Lime can be contacted at 1-888-546-3345, and Neuron can be contacted at 1-866-995-8770.
- Report misparked e-scooters in community mode through each of the providers’ app (company ride app required).
- Call 3-1-1 or email 311@ottawa.ca.
To assist with reporting, each e-scooter has a printed number on it to identify and locate the e-scooter in question.
E-scooters can operate on the City’s multi-use pathways, cycling facilities like cycle tracks and bike lanes, and on roads. They are prohibited on National Capital Commission pathways and in the City of Gatineau. Visit ottawa.ca for the full list of regulations and COVID-19 safety guidance.
Residents can download the free applications on either Android or the Apple Store to access e-scooters.
Bird: Google (link is external) or Apple Store (link is external)
Lime: Google (link is external) or Apple Store (link is external)
Neuron: Google (link is external) or Apple Store (link is external)
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca or call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401). You can also connect with us through Facebook (link is external), Twitter (link is external) and Instagram (link is external).
SOURCE City of Ottawa
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