The City has officially opened the path to electric scooter, bike and e-bike share service in Edmonton. It’s likely that private-sector e-scooters will be the first to receive a licence to operate. The whole idea is to create more travel choices for Edmontonians over short distances in urban areas.
Here are some* of the key things everyone needs to know to keep us all moving—and parking—safely and politely.
Riding right
Electric scooters from the share programs will be allowed to travel along bike lanes, paved shared-use pathways (SUP) and roads with a posted limit of 50km/h or less.
Not on sidewalks. And only on trails maintained by the City of Edmonton.
Privately owned e-scooters are not allowed on bike lanes, SUPs and roads. Provincial rules stipulate only e-scooters operated by share services are allowed.
Parking right
You can park electric scooters on sidewalks, parking lanes (except E-Park zones), at transit centres, rec centres and on parkland.
The e-scooters will not have docking stations. The scooters are locked and unlocked with a phone app. Fees apply.
When you’re done your trip, park the e-scooter in a way that does not block doors or travel for people walking, biking or driving. That means:
On a sidewalk, park at least 0.5 metres from a curb with 1.8 metres (about 6 feet) clearance for people to walk along the sidewalk. On parkland, more than a metre from a shared pathway or trail. At Community and Recreation Facilities, near existing bicycle parking areas.
Please keep in mind your fellow Edmontonians who live and move with disabilities.
Park the e-scooter in an upright position using the kick stand. Don’t park on LRT platforms.
Riding safe
Scooters will be able to travel up to 20km/h. Please carefully read the operating instructions provided by the share company. When crossing intersections, alleys and accessways, please scan your path.
Remember, e-scooters will be allowed to travel along bike lanes, shared pathways and roads with a speed limit of 50km/hr or less. That means more people on more modes of transportation sharing space with each other, and that underlines the need to watch out for each other. Everyone getting where we’re going safely—and realizing we have each other’s safety in our hands—is how we will get closer to Vision Zero.
Electric scooters come equipped with a bell. Bells are safe and effective ways to communicate with other road and path users.
Other stuff
The e-scooter share companies are responsible for keeping track of their vehicles under the City’s terms and conditions. A GPS tracking device is an effective way for many vendors to locate, collect and redistribute their fleet.
If you notice abandoned or wrongly parked scooters, contact the vendor directly.
Bird Canada Inc.
hello@bird.co
(866) 205-2442
Lime Technology Inc.
support@li.me
(888) LIME-345 (546-3345)
You can plan your route using a map of Edmonton’s bike routes and shared pathways at edmonton.ca/cycling.
* There’s a lot more to know about bicycle and e-scooter share in Edmonton, all of which can be found right here.
