E-scooter business, officials trying to get more Islanders to ride by the rules

Nearly a year after the P.E.I. government introduced regulations for electric kick scooters, officials and business owners are still coming up with ways to get more people to follow the rules. 

"Well, it's lots of work for sure," said Tafadzwa Mpaso, who owns Epic Electric Scooters in Charlottetown. "But you know, it's never too much work when you're ensuring that somebody is safe and you're not going to cause somebody to be injured." 

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According to the regulations, e-scooters can't be used on sidewalks or the Confederation Trail. Islanders must be at least 16 years old to drive them, they must wear a helmet, they can't ride them while impaired, and passengers are not allowed.

Mpaso said ensuring people are old enough and getting them to use helmets has been challenging.

"We had concern from local authorities saying that the people are not wearing helmets," he said. 

"We try to make sure everybody is safe, try to make sure that we are always in compliance with the local regulation."

It's something the provincial Department of Transportation is keeping an eye on, too. 

Police enforcing rules

"We know there are issues there — no different than whether people should be wearing seatbelts when they're driving cars," said Graham Miner, the director of P.E.I.'s Highway Safety Division.

"Nobody wants to over-regulate anything, but at the same time you have to have a level of safety for ... other road users and for those using the device."

In Charlottetown, police said they have started enforcing the rules.

So far, four tickets have been issued for not wearing helmets. Police say they're also taking the issue of impaired e-scooter driving seriously, although no charges have been laid so far.

Mpaso said he's made some updates. He introduced age verification back in August, requiring people to submit government-issued ID in order to rent a scooter. There is also a reaction test now to weed out impaired riders.

In September, new helmet locks were added. Mpaso said while the new measures mean extra steps for customers, he's not too concerned. 

"Safety always comes first," he said. "If we're going to see a decrease in riders, then that means we need to have more approaches [for] getting people to go on the scooters more."

Personal e-scooters trickier?

But businesses like Mpaso's aren't necessarily the biggest cause for concern, Miner said. He thinks enforcement will be trickier when it comes to personal devices. 

"The individual businesses, they've been very proactive in what they're doing," Miner said. "It'll get more challenging as we're dealing with individuals who are buying these and, you know, maybe just bought it and are just trying it out and aren't sure what the rules are. " 

It's an ongoing work, so we'll keep on working.— Tafadzwa Mpaso, Epic Electric Scooters

With colder weather on the way, Miner expects the use of e-scooters to decline. Both he and Mpaso agree more education ahead of next season couldn't hurt.

"It's an ongoing work, so we'll keep on working," Mpaso said.

"If there's an issue raised, we'll see what we have and what we can do. Also, we will collaborate, working with the local authorities to do everything we can to solve the issue effectively."