Saskatoon city committee votes in favour of e-scooters

Saskatoon is one step closer to permanently keeping shared e-scooters in the city.

The city's transportation committee voted unanimously Tuesday in favour of permitting the use of the vehicles on public rights of way — and it now falls on city council to make the final decision.

The committee made its decision based on an e-scooter pilot project that operated between April and October for each of the last two years.

A fleet of up to 500 scooters between the two vendors, Neuron and Bird, were available to the public. They had a maximum operating speed of 24 kilometres per hour, and riders had to be 16 or older.

A report presenting the findings of the project was analyzed by the committee at its Tuesday meeting. Data was compared to other cities with e-scooter usage, including Calgary and Ottawa. Some of the arguments presented in favour included affordability, convenience and benefits for the environment.

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block said while she recognizes the benefits of the e-scooters in cities, she is concerned about safety.

"I continue to be concerned about the issue of folks not wearing helmets on those e-scooters. I think that's a great risk to everyone when they're not willing to wear the helmets," Block said.

Helmet use on e-scooters is legally required in the province. According to a city survey of 96 respondents, half say they rarely or never wore a helmet, the report presented to the committee said.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority reported 53 visits to Saskatoon emergency rooms related to e-scooter injuries between April and July of last year, the report said.

According to Saskatoon police, there were four motor vehicle crashes involving e-scooters, including one person who died in a collision with an alleged drunk driver.

The report also flagged 100 complaints and concerns from the public, including sidewalk riding and scooters being abandoned.

Despite these concerns, city administration recommended that e-scooter rentals should continue.

"Based on the report that we received and the comments that we've heard from the community, it would appear that this is the way of the future," Block said.

The final decision on shared e-scooters in the city will land with city council at a later date.