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vancouver is about to launch a shared e-scooter program: here's what you need to know
here's what you need to know about the initial rollout of vancouver's first shared e-scooter system next month and where the first stations will be
aug 21 2024
4 minute read
parking station for vancouver's shared e-scooter program.
lime
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sun
crews installed the first parking station for vancouver’s forthcoming shared electronic scooter system on wednesday. vancouver will follow hundreds of other cities around the world — and a couple of others in the lower mainland — that already have shared e-scooter programs up and running.
last month, lime technology , a u.s.-based company that runs so-called “micromobility” transportation systems in five continents, was selected to operate vancouver’s first scooter rental program.
now, as the launch date approaches and more details are available, here’s what you need to know:
neutron holdings inc. limebike shared electric scooters sit parked on market street in san francisco, california, u.s., on friday, april 13, 2018. photographer: david paul morris/bloomberg org xmit: 775155257
david paul morris
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bloomberg
when can we start scooting?
riders should be able to start signing out scooters in vancouver on thursday, sept. 12, lime confirmed wednesday.
how does it work?
the system will operate not unlike vancouver’s mobi bike-share system, which has been running since 2016 . using the lime application on their smartphones, customers can locate an available scooter at a parking station in vancouver, sign it out and cruise around, then park it at any station in the same area.
e-scooters in b.c. have a speed limit of 25 km/hr and are allowed on roads and bike lanes, but not sidewalks.
parking station for vancouver’s shared e-scooter program.
lime
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sun
where can people find the scooters?
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vancouver’s shared scooter service will start in the northeast part of the city. the first 29 stations will be in two east van neighbourhoods — grandview-woodland and hastings-sunrise — spread along arterials and side streets north of hastings street between commercial drive and boundary road, as well as in the corridor between commercial and nanaimo street south to east broadway.
initially, riders are supposed to stay inside the designated zone. if they scoot outside the boundaries, the scooter’s motor will stop working, and it will not restart until they walk it back inside the area.
the plan is for lime’s service to spread across the rest of vancouver over 2024 and 2025.
vancouver city councillor sarah kirby-yung tries a scooter for hire, in vancouver.
nick procaylo
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what’s the cost to taxpayers?
the program is designed to be “revenue-neutral or revenue-generating” for the city, says the may report from city staff recommending the selection of lime as the operator.
under the contract, lime will pay fees to the city for every trip, said danielle wiley, vancouver’s associate director of street use management. depending on the system’s popularity with users, it could potentially generate revenue for the city by its second year, wiley said, “but either way, it’s not on the taxpayers’ backs.”
what’s the cost to riders?
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lime’s pricing for vancouver will not be released before the september launch. in richmond, the lime app showed this week that e-scooters cost $1.15 to start each trip, then an additional $0.36 plus tax per minute.
monthly and annual passes will also be available at much more affordable rates, wiley said, to aid the city’s transportation and climate goals of reducing people’s dependence on private cars.
lime electric scooters are seen outside of city hall in downtown edmonton, on friday, nov. 1, 2019. electric scooters were introduced into the city this year. photo by ian kucerak/postmedia
ian kucerak
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postmedia
how have shared e-scooter systems fared elsewhere?
e-scooters, run by several companies including lime, have increased in popularity around the world, but not without their critics. paris banned e-scooter rentals last year following complaints from pedestrians, and just last week, melbourne followed suit, with the mayor saying it was time to “ end the havoc on melbourne’s footpaths and make our city safe again.”
closer to home, lime already operates e-scooter systems (as well as e-bikes) in richmond, coquitlam and kelowna. other cities do not require scooters to be parked at stations, as long as they are left inside certain geographic locations. there are rules intended to ensure riders do not park their scooters inappropriately, but there have been complaints in some places, including coquitlam, of abandoned e-scooters blocking sidewalks . (despite coquitlam councillors mentioning those concerns, they voted earlier this year to extend the shared scooter program until at least 2028, noting its popularity with riders).
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vancouver staff wanted to avoid the problems of parked scooters jamming up sidewalks, as reported elsewhere, wiley said. that’s why “it was hugely important to us to have physical parking stations.”
vancouver’s contract required the e-scooter operator to install a system with physical parking stations, prompting lime to design a system unlike any of the other 280 cities where the company operates, said sonia kandola, lime canada’s director of government relations.
“it’s a completely bespoke solution for the city of vancouver that we designed,” kandola said. “this is the first place in the whole wide world where lime is creating physical parking stations for the city … we’re going to learn from this.”
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