Electric scooters back in Ottawa, longer hours offered
Electric scooters are once again rolling down the streets of Ottawa ahead of another summer, providing residents with a convenient mode of transportation for short trips in the downtown core.
Rebecca Kovacs and her friends are visiting Ottawa from Vancouver, and using e-scooters to explore downtown.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"We're kind of just cruising around, exploring the town," said Kovacs.
Duru Gundogdu adds, "I mean, this is kind of like my first time in Ottawa, so doing this is kind of fun, getting to know the city, you know?"
The city kicked off its fifth year last Thursday, marking the return of the popular e-scooters to the capital.
"It's a really great example of working together with the community to make the program work for, frankly, all members of the community," said Austin Spademan, Bird Canada's head of government partnerships.
Operating hours are extended this year.
"It used to cut off at 11 p.m. and now the City of Ottawa has extended the operating hours to 1 a.m., which gives a lot more flexibility to our riders to basically have a reliable mode of transportation any time of the day," Spademan said.
Orléans South-Navan Coun. Catherine Kitts, vice-chair of the city's transportation committee, highlighted the safety measures accompanying the extended hours, including a sobriety test requirement for riders using the scooters after 11 p.m.
"And because we're going later into the evening after 11 p.m., we're requiring that there's actually a sobriety test with the technology, just to make sure that it's safe. You know, if people are using them after they're out and about, we want to make sure everybody's safe," Kitts said.
The sobriety test is a series of skill-testing questions or a test of your reaction time on the app.
The extended hours apply to several neighborhoods, including Downtown, Westboro, Sandy Hill, The Glebe, and Vanier; however, riders in the ByWard Market area will still be cut-off at 11 p.m. The city plans to begin the season with 900 e-scooters and may increase the number to 1,200 if necessary.
"Since launching in Ottawa, people have traveled over half a million kilometres on their own e-scooters, which is quite incredible. That's had an estimated impact of, inverting 35 tonnes of CO2 emissions since we launched in the city," said Isaac Ransom, Neuron Mobility Canada's head of corporate affairs.
The e-scooters not only help people travel more efficiently, they are also helping the local economy.
"When riders are scooting around the city, 73 per cent of these trips are resulting in a purchase, which is pretty fantastic for main street businesses with an average of $32 per person. And so it is having a significant economic impact on the city of Ottawa," Ransom said.
During the 2023 season, approximately 50,000 users took nearly 180,000 trips around the city, averaging about 1,000 trips per day.
"Every year we kind of take the feedback we're getting from the community, to bring that back to the companies. And so they're becoming more and more widely accepted. I think there was a lot of resistance initially, and I think now people are embracing them," Kitts said.
"The one thing that I would change, rather than doing by the minute, tourists, they might want to just take it for an hour. So do kind of like an hourly rate." Said Kovacs.
This year's e-scooter season will run until Nov. 15.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Kingston, Ont. tenants fed up with lack of action from landlord over broken floor tiles
Joel Felder and Misti Pitcher have been living in their apartment in Kingston, Ont. for over two years, but the past 12 months have been miserable.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Are you a loud snorer? You could have sleep apnea
You'll have a lot more energy throughout the day if you get a good night's sleep, but not everyone does due to a medical condition.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
North Korea informs Japan of a plan to launch military spy satellite
North Korea has told Japan it plans to launch a satellite by early next week, an apparent effort to put its second military spy satellite into orbit.