Electric scooters roll onto Ottawa roads for another season

E-scooters return to Ottawa CTV's Tyler Fleming explains the cost and the rules (there are many) for renting an e-scooter in Ottawa this summer.

E-scooters are back on Ottawa roads for another summer.

The city of Ottawa's electric kick scooter pilot project is back for a fourth summer, with Bird Canada and Neuron Mobility offering e-scooters on city streets.

Bird Canada scooters have been spotted around downtown Ottawa over the past couple of days. Neuron announced its e-scooters will be available, starting on Friday.

As part of the pilot project, Bird and Neuron will have 900 e-scooters available for residents and tourists to rent.

Riders can use e-scooters through the provider apps between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. E-scooters can only be used in select neighbourhoods, bounded by Booth Street in the west and the Rideau River in the east and south.

E-scooters are allowed on the city's multiuse pathways, cycling facilities like cycle tracks and bike lanes and on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or lower.

The city is reminding riders that e-scooters are not permitted to operate on sidewalks.

Shared e-scooter providers use geofence technology to create "no ride", "no park" and "slow zones" including transit stations, NCC pathways, the ByWard Market, according to the city.

Riders must park the e-scooters upright in either a physical designated parking space which are signed or in the permitted areas identified in each of the e-scooter provider's app.

"If an e-scooter is improperly parked, the rider will continue to be charged a fee until it’s properly parked or retrieved by the provider," the city said in a statement. "Providers have also implemented fines and will remove users from their app who disregard the local rules, including sidewalk riding and improper parking."

The e-scooter pilot project is starting earlier this summer than last summer. E-scooters hit Ottawa streets in early July last summer.

The city of Ottawa rules for e-scooters