Ontario Announces E-Scooter Pilot for the province

December 02, 2019, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Waterloo was the home of the Lime test area for e-scooters until it stopped the programme this year due to the legislative uncertainty around their use on public roads/sidewalks. I wrote about Lime here.

This last week the Province released an e-scooter pilot programme which they hope will give consumers and commuters more choices. Here is a copy of the news release:

News Release

Ontario Announces E-Scooter Pilot to Help Grow Ontario's Economy

E-scooter pilot will make it easier for people to get around

November 27, 2019 10:00 A.M.Ministry of Transportation

TORONTO - As part of the government's plan to help businesses expand and allow consumers and commuters more choice, Vijay Thanigasalam, Parliamentary Assistant to Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation, announced a 5-year e-scooter pilot that will begin on January 1, 2020.

E-scooters have the potential to help hundreds of thousands of commuters get to transit connections, reduce congestion and open the Ontario market to a new and growing sector. Under the pilot, municipalities can choose whether to allow e-scooters on their roadways.

"Ontario's five-year e-scooter pilot will give people a new, clean and green way to get from point A to point B in their communities," said Thanigasalam. "This pilot is another way that our government is giving consumers more choice and making Ontario open for business."

"Ontario's e-scooter pilot will help businesses expand, enrich local economies and offer people more options to get around safely," said Mulroney. "Our government is strongly committed to promoting the highest standards of safety for all Ontarians who travel on our roads."

"With Ontario adopting regulations for its e-scooter pilot, we're excited by the momentum micromobility continues to gain across Canada," said Chris Schafer, Senior Director, Strategic Development at Lime in Canada. "This development means that Ontario's municipalities can now offer their residents new and sustainable ways to get around in their communities. We look forward to working in partnership with governments across the province and continuing to advance our shared transportation goals."

The province has developed best practice guidelines to help municipalities safely integrate e-scooters in their communities. E-scooters have been launched in over 125 U.S. cities and are being allowed under pilot conditions in Quebec and Alberta.

Quick Facts

Municipalities that choose to permit e-scooters will be responsible for considerations such as whether to allow or prohibit them on municipal roads including parks and trails; where parking will be located; and how e-scooters will be managed in their municipality.

Under the 5-year pilot, the province has set out rules and requirements for e-scooters such as helmet requirements and a minimum age of 16 years old.

E-scooters will also need to be equipped with a horn or bell and must have a front and rear light.

Municipalities can choose to pass by-laws to allow use of e-scooters and determine where they can operate most safely in each unique environment.

Ontario’s Open for Business Action Plan has set targets of reducing regulatory red tape affecting businesses by 25 per cent and the cost of complying with regulations by $400 million annually by 2020 to help business keep, grow and create good jobs.

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