Free helmets for e-scooter riders as Canada-wide safety campaign comes to Mississauga

E-scooter riders in Mississauga can score a free helmet on Friday as part of a Canada-wide campaign that’s encouraging those who use the electric mobility devices to put safety first and wear protective headgear on every trip.

The helmet giveaway in Mississauga is being held from 2-5 p.m. at the City Centre Transit Terminal near Square One Shopping Centre.

Lime Canada, a leading provider of shared electric vehicles and one of the City of Mississauga’s partners in the municipality’s e-scooter/e-bike rental program, is hosting the helmet giveaways in towns and cities across the country this week.

The grab-a-helmet events are part of Lime’s new “Helmet Selfie” campaign that encourages riders to prioritize safety at all times. Those who submit a photo of themselves wearing a helmet will get discounts on their next rented ride as a reward for responsible behaviour, Lime said in a news release this week.

The “Helmet Selfie” campaign “aims to put safety first by incentivizing all e-scooter riders to wear helmets on every trip,” the company added.

Riders using Lime e-scooters who snap a selfie while wearing a helmet are being asked to then submit the photos to the company and they’ll receive a 50 per cent discount on their next ride.

Company officials say the initiative is part of Lime’s commitment to building a culture of safe and responsible riding in all cities where it operates. In addition to Mississauga, helmet giveaways are also taking place in Vaughan, Ajax, Edmonton and in B.C. cities Vancouver, Port Moody, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Richmond and Kelowna.

For more information about the campaign, visit Lime’s website.

Mississauga will review the program once again 

Mississauga’s e-scooter/e-bike rental program, which recently completed its second summer, has encountered some difficulties getting off the ground.

Over the past two years, the initiative has made some 900 electric scooters and 300 electric bikes available for people to rent and use at various places including parks, the downtown core and other neighbourhoods throughout the city.

The program will soon be reviewed once again as it completes its second full season in the city (e-scooters are taken off the streets during winter while e-bikes are available for rent year-round).

The e-scooters, which are rented out spring through fall (until winter weather hits), have been the focus of concern for Mississauga city councillors and many residents since summer 2024 — particularly when it comes to properly parking the devices instead of leaving them strewn about the city, especially in waterfront areas, as was the case last year.

Ward 8 Coun. and Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney said earlier this fall he wants e-scooters banned in Mississauga.

The matter was especially concerning to Mayor Carolyn Parrish, who following year one of the program in fall 2024 suggested scrapping the program altogether.

However, senior city staff and the city’s outside partners in the initiative — Lime and Bird Canada — brainstormed to find solutions as the program entered year two this past spring.

More recently, Mississauga Ward 8 Coun. and Deputy Mayor Matt Mahoney voiced concerns over safety and suggested e-scooters should be banned in the city.

He said the electric mobility devices pose a serious threat to the safety of kids and others.

“These things scare the hell out of me …,” Mahoney said in concluding his remarks at a recent Mississauga general committee meeting. “I hate these scooters and I want them banned.”

A vocal critic of the city’s e-scooter/e-bike rental program since shortly after it was launched in early summer 2024, the councillor took more direct aim this time at privately owned e-scooters in Mississauga — and not those supplied to residents by the city for a rental fee during the year’s warmer months.