Halifax sees more than 118K rides on e-bikes, e-scooters in first six months of pilot project

Bird Canada e-scooters are seen parked on a Halifax sidewalk. (CTV Atlantic/Jonathan MacInnis)

The pilot project for e-bikes and e-scooters in Halifax saw more than 118,000 rides in its first six months, according to a new report for the Active Transportation Advisory Committee.

The report, filed to the committee by project manager Brittney MacLean, found there were 118,246 total rides from May 15 to Nov. 5. The e-scooter was the far more popular choice with 104,406 rides compared to 13,840 rides on the e-bike.

In 2023 Halifax council approved a two-year micromobility pilot project based on a readiness study released in 2021. It also introduced Bylaw M-300 to enable e-scooter use in the municipality and establish the rules of the road.

The bylaw says e-scooter riders cannot go in excess of 25km/h on a roadway or bicycle lane or more than 15km/h on a multi-use pathway. They also cannot go on sidewalks.

Bird Canada, which operates in more than 25 Canadian cities, was awarded the two-year project. They brought 300 e-bikes and 300 e-scooters to the region in May.

Phase one of the project set up the e-bikes and e-scooters in Halifax, Dartmouth, Fairview, Spryfield, Westphal and Woodside.

Phase two, which started in September, expanded the service area to Bayers Lake, Clayton Park West, Burnside, Bedford (up to Mill Cove), Cole Harbour, Cherry Brook and Montebello. This phase will also bring the total number of e-scooters to 600.

The Active Transportation Advisory Committee will discuss the report at their scheduled meeting on Thursday.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Haeley DiRisio

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