Bird Canada, an eco-transportation company currently supplying e-bikes and e-scooters to Edmonton, is bringing its newest ‘state-of-the-art’ fleet to the city. The Bird Explorer is a “completely different riding experience than the existing bikes that Bird has deployed in Edmonton,” regional operations manager Tyler Zeck told CTV News. “They’re considerably lighter weight compared to the existing bikes in town, and they’re a little bit smaller frame as well, smaller tire … Technically, they can go faster, but they don’t because we don’t allow them to.” Speed continues to be regulated by municipalities with public micromobility contracts, but the legality of private e-scooters and e-bikes falls under the provincial Traffic Safety Act. The new bikes, which will be fully rolled out by 2027, are currently in Calgary, Halifax and a few locations in the U.S. Zeck says the company intends to fully comply with any rules the province may introduce by way of speed limits and area regulation in the wake of municipality complaints, largely in relation to privately owned and mostly illegal e-scooters and bikes. “Of course, we’ve watched the scene very carefully, and would always respond to any changes that were required. I do know that a lot of the debate these days is around scooter safety, and we have found that the bigger problem is the private sector,” he said. Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said the city has been supporting provincial moves to create regulations, “because the issue is that technically, private e-scooters don’t exist; they’re not a thing, and therefore you can’t govern them.” “This is a scenario where I think this is perfectly within the provincial government’s jurisdiction. This is actually within their jobs. I’ve talked to the (transportation) minister about this,” he said. “It’s not the Bird, it’s not the Lime bikes that are the issue because they have speed limiters.” Alberta’s transportation ministry has previously said it would be working on a framework enabling municipalities to allow and enforce private micromobility devices. While there wasn’t a solid timeline, Alberta Municipalities president Dylan Bressey has expressed hope for a change made as soon as the spring. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Klippenstein and Amanda Anderson
