When will e-scooter rentals hit the road again this year in Brampton?
Published April 26, 2024 at 3:06 pm
The city is looking to let electric scooter rentals back on the road after a mostly successful trial run in Brampton, but the program could see changes related to parking concerns before starting up again.
Brampton launched the pilot project last year making it the first city in the GTA with an e-scooter program and recorded approximately 200,000 trips between April 3 and Nov. 12, according to a new report going to Brampton City Council next week.
With three providers offering e-scooter rentals in Brampton, some 750 scooters were deployed across the city every day during the program’s test drive with 110,000 registered users travelling around 415,000 kilometres.
Some 40 per cent of users reported using the e-scooters primarily to connect with public transit routes, and e-scooter company Neuron said some 6 per cent of its riders reported having a disability or mobility impairment – with many respondents saying they have difficulty walking long distances or for extended periods.
But not everyone loved the new transportation option with 337 scooter-related complaint calls made to 311 during the program, and the city could make changes to parking guidelines for e-scooter users before it greenlights another year of rentals.
The city said 13 per cent of all e-scooter service requests were related to “Litter, Debris, and Obstruction” with 181 requests, and 156 calls related to e-scooter parking. Some users on social media complained about e-scooters parked on their property or left laying across Brampton sidewalks.
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The total number of complaints per number of trips was only 0.002 per cent, according to the report.
But the city found parking compliance among e-scooter users was only around 60 per cent and is looking at introducing a “hybrid parking model” for e-scooters in the city with designated e-scooter parking stalls in areas with high pedestrian traffic, and a free-floating parking model in less congested areas.
Data from the city shows the most e-scooter usage in May last year with over 40,000 trips, dropping to over 30,000 in June and July. The report suggests a start date of May 1 for the second year of the e-scooter program – a date that seems unlikely given it’s the same day the report will go to council for approval.
E-scooters are only allowed on roads in Brampton, are banned from all sidewalks, and are limited to a maximum speed of 20 km/h. The scooters have also been “geo-fenced” to reduce speeds to 15 km/h when operating in parks, high-pedestrian areas, and paths.
Last year, e-scooter rentals had an activation fee and users were charged by the minute with the three providers using similar rates for rides. Scooty charged $1.15 to unlock a scooter and 0.40 cents per minute; Neuron charged $1.15 to unlock the scooters and another 0.35 cents per minute; while Bird charged around $1.35 to activate and 0.20 cents per minute.
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