500 e-scooters rolling onto Saskatoon streets next April

Saskatoon residents will be able to zip around town on rented e-scooters next spring.

Council approved a two-year pilot project that will see two companies operate up to 500 of the stand-up e-scooters.

A mobile app will allow you to unlock a scooter and it will also give you instructions on parking and how to return them.

There will also be technology to limit where you can ride and how fast you can go.

Lime, an e-scooter company out of San Francisco, could be one of the companies coming to the city.

Derek Robertson, Lime's senior manager of government relations in Canada, said the technology is there to control many factors.

"In consultation with the city we can set no operation zones or mandatory parking zones or slow zones for that matter to really ensure that the city and the whole is taken into account," Robertson said. "If there are high volume areas or areas with a lot of pedestrian traffic we can work with the city to determine where those individual zones are."

He said riders can choose different modes depending on their comfort level on e-scooters.

Riders will have to be at least 16 years old, wear a helmet and are restricted to streets with a 50 km/h or lower speed limit. The maximum riding speed will be 24 km/h.

If all goes well in the first year of the project the city will consider allowing private electric scooters in 2024.

The scooters rentals will operating from April 15 to Oct. 31.

Jay Magus, the city's director of transportation, said initially there will be a "fun factor'" with renting the e-scooters.

"It's a good way to explore the city, Meewasin trail, downtown, … to get around campus if they're allowed on campus," Magus said.

"And then there's another aspect of what we call first mile, last mile. 

"Maybe I'll take the bus downtown, but I still have a bit of a walk to get to my school or my place of employment. I jump on the scooter and finish my trip to work that way. So that's kind of the two big ways we see people using these scooters."

Magus said there are concerns about safety of the riders and pedestrians, as well as where the scooters will be parked.

"Geofencing and sidewalk detection can limit the speed and location e-scooters can travel; and there are in-app incentives for wearing a helmet and proper parking," Magus said.

The city plans to consider allowing private electric scooters in 2024 once we have conducted a year of this pilot program.

"I think the first month honestly is going to be quite difficult for folks," Magus said."We're not going to be used to seeing these in our city, on our streets. It may take a couple tries for people to get understand where to park them."

He said that's why there will be a pilot project first.

"Let's eat this cookie first, figure it out and then let's figure out how to tackle the next one, which is, private e- scooters."

The full framework and summary of public engagement is available at saskatoon.ca/escooter.

Waste subsidy

City council approved a $100 subsidy on Monday for low-income households when garbage collection moves from a property tax model to a utility.

The subsidy will kick in at the beginning of 2024 and is expected to go to 1,000-1,500 eligible households.

The $100 subsidy will be phased out by 2027 when council is expected to have developed a broader low income subsidy.

The subsidy is meant to help minimize the financial impact on low-income households.  

This subsidy will be available to eligible low-income households who have a utility account in their name. 

City administration will report back to council later in 2023 with further information on eligibility and timelines for the implementation of the waste utility subsidy, including detailed administration and implementation costs.