Despite the failure of the U-Bicycle program, top executives of the two biggest electric scooter companies have both said Victoria would be an ideal place to implement a program.

Lime and Bird, two of the top competing e-scooter companies in Canada, agree the city would be an ideal place to launch an e-scooter (similar to a push scooter, but with a motor) rental program.

In B.C., communities can submit proposals to the provincial government to conduct a pilot project for the use of e-scooters or other micromobility devices not currently authorized to be used on streets and sidewalks. While the deadline has passed for communities to submit proposals, they can still be considered for a possible future phase.

B次元官网网址淔rom our point of view, Victoria is kind of a no brainer,B次元官网网址� said Jonathan Hopkins, director of strategic developments for Lime.

According to Hopkins, Lime has engaged with the city on having the e-scooters as Victoria has signed up to be a participant in the pilot project but is not currently B次元官网网址渙n the slate to operate this year.B次元官网网址�

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Stewart Lyons, CEO of Bird Canada, said his company spoke with city representatives B次元官网网址渜uite often in the last yearB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渨ould love to be in VictoriaB次元官网网址� but is waiting for the city to make the next move.

When determining cities in which to launch e-scooter programs, both companies look at such factors as urban density, tourism and infrastructure.

Bird launched in Calgary a little over a year ago, and have had more than a million rentals, with an average ride of 20 minutes, in that time Lyons said. B次元官网网址淭hat proves, from our perspective, that itB次元官网网址檚 really a commuting tool. ItB次元官网网址檚 not just a toy or a tourism tool.B次元官网网址�

For Corey Burger, president of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition, the prospect of having e-scooters in the city is an B次元官网网址榠nteresting double-edged sword.B次元官网网址�

The positives, he said, are that scooters attract a new group of people to using active transportation, but the concerns about sidewalk clutter are important to take into account. In 2019, disability advocates took the city of San Diego and operating scooter companies to court for blocking rights-of-way.

Burger said Victoria saw a similar problem with the U-Bicycle business.

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B次元官网网址淭hey need to be left in defined places, but even that hasnB次元官网网址檛 solved the problem,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that there needs to be additional rules to where you can park them. B次元官网网址淚 could just go pick one up and move it out of the way, but what about someone who uses a walker or a wheelchair?B次元官网网址�

Hopkins said the best place for e-scooters B次元官网网址� which can travel up to 20 km/h B次元官网网址� is a bike lane.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 put pedestrians in the middle of a highway because pedestrians and cars go different speeds, and we try not to put scooters on sidewalks,B次元官网网址� he said.

Another factor is the number of scooters that would need to be available in the city to make the program worthwhile.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 part of the reason why the U-bike is essentially gone, is that they didnB次元官网网址檛 have enough bikes on the road to make it actually useful,B次元官网网址� said Burger.

Skateboarders have been using bike lanes in Victoria for a few years now, and Burger said there have been no problems with that, adding that scooters are B次元官网网址渏ust one more small micromobility device that can use that space.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎nd if there arenB次元官网网址檛 enough bike lanes, well letB次元官网网址檚 go and add some more B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 not a big deal,B次元官网网址� he said.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps did not respond to requests for comment.