City council approves e-scooter pilot project

By Tim Kalinowski on May 19, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

City council unanimously approved an e-scooter pilot project for Lethbridge this summer.
The decision to approve came late in Tuesday’s council meeting, and received unanimous support after City staff reminded councillors that the pilot project would be done at no cost to the City of Lethbridge, with all liability and costs borne by whichever company wins the contract.
Tthe e-scooters would also be rented by Lethbridge residents or other visitors at their own expense, and possess technology that prohibits the vehicles from leaving certain “geo-fenced” areas dictated by the City of Lethbridge. The same technology could additionally limit the speed at which the vehicles could travel through certain areas of the city.
The winning company bidding for the contract would also have to reimburse the City for any of its own staff time associated with the pilot project.
Coun. Blaine Hyggen said he was satisfied with the cost and insurance arrangements for the pilot project, and felt it was worth a try.
“I think it is a great idea, something to try,” he said. “We are in a pilot program. It doesn’t work, we can always decide against the full implementation.”
Coun. Ryan Parker agreed.
“I don’t know how successful it could be compared to those bigger communities like Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, but I see this being a real success in the River Valley,” he said. “We have a paved area, and I can see it being almost hosted down at Fort Whoop-Up where people can go down there, grab one, rent it, and check out our whole (surfaced) trail system.”
Coun. Belinda Crowson, who sponsored the motion, said there were also potential economic benefits to local businesses from having the e-scooters in the community.
“Eighty-one per cent of riders report visiting local businesses more when scooters are present (according to Lime), and 97 per cent said they visited a local business while on the scooter,” she reported. “During a six-month economic impact of micro-mobility study, for every single e-scooter they had available, they delivered approximately $921 USD in incremental revenue for companies in the food and beverage sector. This has the potential not only to provide transit options for residents, but it also has the benefit to greatly support our local businesses who need it now more than ever. And so here we have something we could pilot that will support businesses and the community during this recovery we hope to have happening very soon.”
Lethbridge is a desirable market due to proximity to Calgary, higher than average youth population and multiple postsecondary institutions, said representatives from Bird Canada and Lime Technology who presented to Civic Works SPC meeting on May 6.

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