Third e-scooter company set to cruise into Edmonton

New e-scooter joins Edmonton streets A third company is moving into town, and city staff hope official parking zones will reduce scooter clutter. Jeremy Thompson reports.

EDMONTON — For the first time, a third e-scooter company will ride into Alberta's capital city.

San Francisco-based Spin is set to roll out hundreds of shared e-scooters in the city's downtown and Old Strathcona starting April 12, a company spokesperson told CTV News Edmonton.

All Spin e-scooters in Edmonton will be available free of charge on April 17 in celebration of the company's Canada debut.

Spin's Canada debut will also mean limited free rides for healthcare workers.

"With vaccine distribution still ongoing in Edmonton, Spin is offering medical professionals five free 30 minute scooter rides per day as part of our Everyday Heroes program," Spin spokesperson Sara Dodrill said in a written statement.

"Spin is launching this effort in order to support the medical community and Edmonton’s frontline healthcare workers in the fight against COVID-19."

According to Spin's website, the company was founded in 2016, and already has fleets of e-scooters in Germany, the U.S. and the U.K.

Edmonton's e-scooter landscape will be changing this year to meet safety and logistical concerns.

E-SCOOTERS ALREADY ON EDMONTON STREETS

One hundred Lime scooters were available starting March 17. More will be added to the Lime fleet “to meet demand.”

Bird launched 150 scooters March 19. More scooters will be added as “the weather gets warmer.”

Last year, both Lime and Bird offered their e-scooters starting in April.

According to Lime, Edmontonians took nearly 500,000 trips on Lime scoorters in 2020.

Jonathan Hopkins, Lime’s government relations director, said in a statement that Lime is excited to be back on Edmonton streets and offering residents as a safe and flexible method of transportation.

“Lime is thrilled to be back on the streets of Edmonton in 2021 after providing important essential transportation services during the height of the pandemic last year,” he said.

“This year will be all about revival, helping Edmonton businesses recover, encouraging residents to get outside and see friends once vaccinated and helping visitors return to the city at long-last.”

The company added that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found the primary and most important mode of transmission for COVID-19 is through close contact from person-to-person.

Despite this, Lime said it has increased the frequency of disinfecting scooters using products recommended by the CDC for use against COVID-19 as an enhanced precaution.