Hundreds of e-bikes and e-scooters will soon hit the streets of Mississauga
Published April 2, 2024 at 1:06 pm
Mississauga residents will have a couple more ways to get around the city on two wheels this summer, if they choose to do so, with the launch of a new transportation program.
The City of Mississauga’s plan is to get more people in Canada’s seventh-largest city onto electric bicycles and scooters as a viable and widespread mode of transportation.
Starting this summer, the city’s first shared micro-mobility program will make as many as 300 electric pedal-assist bicycles (e-bikes) and 900 electric kick-style scooters (e-scooters) available for people to use at various places including parks, the downtown core and other neighbourhoods.
For a yet-to-be-determined fee, officials say, users can rent e-bikes and e-scooters to get around the city safely and conveniently. People will be able to park their device at a bike rack or another designated location closest to their destination, they add.
“With this new shared system, users will be able to travel throughout Mississauga using another mode of transportation that is fun, convenient and environmentally friendly,” city officials said in a news release on Tuesday.
The plan was first discussed several years ago and then fully supported by city councillors who approved the program last fall.
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“This is exciting news for Mississauga. Having a shared micro-mobility system will provide residents with a new way to move around our city,” Geoff Wright, Mississauga’s commissioner of transportation and works, said at the time. “We’ll be joining eight other Ontario municipalities with shared micro-mobility systems including Toronto, Brampton and Ottawa.”
Officials say micro-mobility is a form of travel “using a lightweight device powered by your own body or electricity.”
In October 2019, council supported a recommendation for city staff to look at how a program of shared bikes, e-bikes or e-scooters could be used for travel in Mississauga as part of a Micro-Mobility Program Development Project.
Following extensive analysis and community and stakeholder consultation in June 2022, council approved a recommendation last fall to develop a shared micro-mobility program that offers e-bikes and e-scooters, city officials said.
The city is partnering with Lime Technology, Inc. and Bird Canada to launch Mississauga’s first shared system of e-bikes and e-scooters early this summer. The contract with both companies is for three years.
Both partners will provide e-bikes and e-scooters and the devices will be programmed with:
- no-ride zones on sidewalks and other restricted areas
- slow-ride zones on busy shared trails and areas with high foot traffic
- no-parking zones to ensure trips can only end in areas approved for parking
City officials stated earlier there are many benefits to such alternative forms of transportation.
“Micro-mobility devices like bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters are transportation alternatives to vehicles that are lightweight, low-emission and help connect residents to their transit stop or destination. In Mississauga, a shared micro-mobility system could support the city’s greater transportation system, helping residents connect to the Hurontario LRT, the Mississauga Transitway, the active transportation network and key tourism destinations like Port Credit, Streetsville and downtown Mississauga.”
