E-scooter hospitalizations up 32% in Canada: research

As E-scooters have exploded in popularity, there’s been a major spike in hospitalizations linked to the devices.

We see them zip around in cities across the country, including in the Lower Mainland – but new data shows a big spike in related injuries.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information shows a 32 percent year-over-year increase in e-scooter hospitalizations.

“It is a very big increase in a one-year period,” noted Diana Craiovan, the institute’s hospital data advancement and engagement program lead. “Our hope is [this research] will lead to more informed decisions.”

This new national data is being released shortly after Lime expanded its shared e-scooter system into Downtown Vancouver.

The company did not make a spokesperson available, but sent a statement.

“Safety is critical to the success of micromobility programs in Canada and around the world. We invest considerable time and resources in the safety of riders and non-riders alike,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to CTV News.

“This includes designing our vehicles in-house, developing rider education and on-vehicle technology to help riders feel confident, and sharing our data with cities to determine where infrastructure improvements like protected bike lanes would be most valuable. We’re proud that 99.99% of rides globally end without a reported incident.”

In local hospitals, doctors have been seeing more people coming in for injuries related to e-scooters, although data collection on causes isn’t always consistent.

“There likely has been an increase in the number of injuries, just based on the fact that we know more people are using them,” acknowledged Dr. Brandon Yau, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health. “With the novelty of the device and more people using them, it does make logical sense that we would see more injuries.”

As for whether e-scooters are here to stay, that could depend on how things go.

Paris had shared e-scooters for half a decade before banning them a couple of years ago following public dissatisfaction and a referendum on the issue.