Starting next month, micromobility company Lime will begin operating an e-scooter sharing program in Vancouver — but with a twist.
What happened: In a first for Lime, scooters will have designated docking areas to limit pile-ups on sidewalks and streets. It’s a unique fix for riders who park scooters in inconvenient areas, creating hazards.
- Lime and other providers currently use tech to control where scooters can stop and start.
- The pilot will initially start with 100 e-scooters and 29 stations in two neighbourhoods, with plans to expand citywide through 2028. The contract can be extended up to 20 years.
Why it matters: Many Canadian cities are hesitant to adopt e-scooter sharing because, quite frankly, e-scooters can be a huge nuisance. If this trial proves that docking stations can make e-scooter usage more orderly, more places could be encouraged to adopt them.
- Two big potential markets include Montréal, which has limited e-scooter sharing, and Toronto — which has banned the vehicles outright after a disastrous tryst with them.
Big picture: E-scooter advocates see sharing playing a key role in reducing congestion and emissions. A study analyzing 190,000 e-scooter trips taken in Bristol, U.K., over three months found that e-scooter adoption cut emissions by 45% compared to trips they replaced.—QH