OTTAWA -- It will soon be "all aboard" on Ottawa's light rail transit system for passengers carrying bikes and e-scooters, as long as they don't ride the two-wheeled vehicles on transit property.
The city’s transit commission will vote next week to update Ottawa's transit bylaw to allow riders to bring bicycles, electric kick-scooters and power-assisted bicycles onboard O-Train cars and on transit property.
In 2018, the city approved a temporary measure to allow passengers to bring bicycles on the first O-Train car. On O-Train Line 1, customers with bicycles are required to board through the first door of the first car of the train. On O-Train Line 2, customers with bicycles are required to board through the doors that are marked with the bicycle symbol.
A report to the commission says staff "identified no operational difficulties or overall inconvenience for other customers" while bicycles were onboard between September 2019 and November 2020.
"Generally, customers are following the signage in the stations and on the trains," said the report. "Any exceptions can be addressed by operational staff, supervisory staff, or special constables, as appropriate."
Staff say allowing bicycles on O-Train cars can encourage customers to use a bicycle as the first and last mile of a trip, converting trips that might otherwise be made in an automobile.
When it comes to e-scooters, staff say they may not be ridden in stations, on station platforms, or on trains.
Customers with electric scooters must board through the first door of the train on O-Train Line 1 and through the marked door for bicycles on O-Train Line 2 when it reopens.
Electric scooters won't be allowed on the bicycle racks of buses.
