Council considers banning e-scooters from London streets, permission briefly extended

Overwhelmed with complaints about inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour on e-scooters, London City Council came one vote shy of immediately banning the mobility devices from streets, bike lanes, and pathways.

On Tuesday, a fed-up Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis attempted to short-circuit a motion that would renew London’s e-scooter pilot project for one year.

“We’re getting a ton of complaints about the behaviors that are happening on them,” Lewis told council colleagues before urging them not to approve the extension.

London’s by-law to participate in the provincial pilot project is set to expire this week, so voting against the renewal would have resulted in an immediate ban.

“If we’re no longer part of the provincial pilot, then there would be no legislation governing their use in London,” explained Kelly Scherr, Deputy City Manager Environment and Infrastructure. “They would simply be, as they were before, not permitted.”

“I don’t think the general public is aware that as-of-today we are discussing them not using electric scooters in the city,” warned Coun. Skylar Franke. “I don’t think that’s fair to people who are using them to get to work and to school to just wake up tomorrow and now it be illegal.”

Lewis responded, “You’re 100 per cent right on that, but there are a lot of people who aren’t (obeying the rules) and they’re putting themselves and they’re putting others in danger. That’s where I struggle with giving any further extension to this.”

London joined the provincial pilot project in 2023 by permitting personally-owned e-scooters, but did not allow the operation of corporate rental fleets.

Earlier this month city staff recommended council renew the by-law for one additional year (until November 2026) to permit the collection of data related to participation and enforcement.

Currently, London requires that e-scooter riders:

• be at least 16 years old
• wear a helmet if they are 16 or 17 years old
• obey a speed limit of 24 km/h
• travel streets with a speed limit at or below 50 km/h, multi-use pathways, and bike lanes
• avoid sidewalks, hiking trails, Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs)

“We’re seeing a lot of users that are under the age of 16, we’re seeing a lot of violations with helmets not being worn, and we’re seeing them used on street classifications that they’re not supposed to be on,” said Coun. Corrine Rahman.

To avoid an immediate ban, or temporary ban until public feedback can be gathered, Franke suggested a shorter extension into the spring.

“I would appreciate the support from council to extend this for just six months, so we can look at this a little bit more fulsomely and hear from our residents,” she requested.

But many Council members, including the deputy mayor, weren’t willing to wait, “Frankly, I’m done with (the pilot project). It’s time, from my perspective, for the province to step up and regulate.”

By the narrowest margin, council voted 8-7 in favour of Franke’s six-month extension which will expire May 26, 2026.

A report and public feedback will be considered by council prior to the expiration of the by-law.