What you need to know about e-bikes, e-scooters in Edmonton

E-bikes join e-scooters in E-town Edmontonians will be able to rent both e-scooters and e-bikes this summer. Jeremy Thompson has the details.

Edmonton has approved licences for Lime and Bird to operate e-scooters and e-bikes in the city this summer.

The city announced Friday morning that a total of 1,500 e-scooters and 400 e-bikes will be available across Edmonton.

This is the first year e-bikes have been offered. They will be available to rent through the same apps as the scooters.

“The City of Edmonton is excited to welcome e-scooters and highly sought after e-bikes to Edmonton this summer and beyond,” said Jessica Lamarre, Director of Safe Mobility and Traffic Operations in a written release. “We ask that while everyone is having fun and getting to where they want to go, to also be mindful of others while riding. Edmonton’s streets are for everyone, including all ages, abilities and modes.”

The city is behind other jurisdictions like Leduc, St. Albert and Calgary in getting the scooters on the road for the season. Officials decided to limit the number of companies to be licenced to two, and cap the number of scooters on the road.

In 2021, Bird, Lime and Spin were all granted licences and a total of 4,000 scooters were available for users.

Officials hope having fewer scooters on the road will help address complaints about messy parking jobs and people riding on sidewalks that have been received in previous years.

Bird Canada rolled out their bikes and scooters on Friday, while Lime plans to follow suit over the weekend.