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Saskatoon is considering whether to follow in the footsteps of Regina and several other Canadian cities by making e-scooters a permanent mode of transportation.
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After the city participated in a two-year pilot project that wrapped up in the fall of 2024, the City of Saskatoon’s transportation committee is set to discuss a report Tuesday that recommends allowing shared e-scooters on the public right-of-way.
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In the report going before the committee, a list of pros and cons are attached to the idea of permitting or not permitting e-scooters on a permanent basis.
Pros listed include e-scooters providing another mode of transportation, being less expensive than driving a vehicle, providing additional tourism and recreational opportunities, and being more environmentally friendly than vehicles.
Cons listed include e-scooters being parked incorrectly or abandoned, risks around unsafe driving, e-scooters being a weather-dependent option, and a risk of injuries to both riders and pedestrians.
According to statistics complied during the pilot project, there were 114,317 trips taken on e-scooters in 2023 and 104,625 trips in 2024. Overall, the total distance travelled on the e-scooters was 311,036 kilometres in 2023 and 279,440 km in 2024.
According to the report, approximately 100 complaints were received by the city or the two e-scooter companies participating in the pilot project: Bird and Neuron. Many of those complaints were related to privately owned e-scooters, and the most common complaints were about e-scooters being improperly parked, unsafe riding and sidewalk riding, according to the report.
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The Saskatchewan Health Authority reported 53 visits to hospital emergency departments between April and July 2024 connected to e-scooter injuries.
The Saskatoon Police Service noted two accidents that resulted in minor injuries to e-scooter riders, as well as one vehicle collision involving an e-scooter that resulted in the death of the rider.
Private e-scooter use on the public right-of-way is still illegal in Saskatoon, but will be discussed in a separate report in the spring or summer of this year.
If the transportation committee approves the report on Tuesday and city council chooses to permit e-scooters in the city, administration will create a request for applications, potentially awarding two vendors the ability to operate a total of 500 shared e-scooters in Saskatoon.
These permits will be five years in length, with a $22,000 fee and an additional $100 for each designated parking area, with the fees being shared by vendors based on how many e-scooters they are operating in the city.
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