E-bikes and other small personal transportation devices work fine in bike lanes. Thinking you are the only one who should get to use it is incredibly myopic and will result in less mobility lanes, not more.
This is the most ableist thing we’ve heard in a while. Why should your neighbours not be able to get around in the same lanes you do, just because they can’t safely ride a bike (or don’t want to pedal). After I was hit by a car on a bike, I used an e-scooter for 6 months to get around.
Note we still suspect this was partly due to poor maintenance of the viaduct…which was full of debris shortly after the incident…
Cc: @rzaichkowski.bsky.social would love if you could update your story to highlight this issue. A scooter user died in the Bloor bike lane…should be included in the stats…
The cycling centricity by Toronto mobility advocates and the city continues. Haven’t seen an article that mentions Toronto had its first scooter death this year. Not even in the stats. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...
At the 12 second mark, that camera operator called an audible and just said "fuck it, the lane is clear, no tripping hazards, I'm winning a Sports Emmy for cinematography right now"
Right, so same thing as happened for e-bikes…TPA can just order some and put them in the existing system…which will be a lot less scary for people than letting lime/bird/whatever run their own thing…and better for existing customers…
It should be as simple as just putting in an order for their scooters…I think we even use their software…so just turn on the scooter feature (maybe not exactly, but shouldn’t require a whole new supplier etc)
lyfturbansolutions.com/products?gad... the folks that make the docks and e-bikes…we have the Iconic bikes…
Chicago’s system is really interesting because 40% of their usage is e-scooters…that’s a lot of demand for mobility lanes, and a lot more ebike charging stations!
Please explain why…the scooters are compatible with the existing docks…it’s the same company…
This problem has been solved…
Yup…although there are benefits to running a hybrid system (docks and parking spots), which is lower capital expense and vehicles closer to users…this is true for bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters…
We strongly encourage the city to get on with allowing e-scooters in the city…and thanks Shawn for the article!
Most scooter users are hurt or killed by cars, and most of these issues can be mitigated in the same way as with bikes and pedestrians…separation, infrastructure and slowing down cars…scooter users injuries have been shown in a Rutgers study to have a shorter hospital stay than e-bikes…
Like racing, collecting, research, etc. Finally with regard to the reports from the hospitals, they are very specifically saying that the injuries are increasing commensurate with usage…this is expected…and no cause for alarm…injuries increase with car usage as well…
Or already exists in some form (ie all lithium batteries must be certified to transport via truck, plane, train or plane in Canada)…so further rules on lithium batteries don’t make a lot of sense, and there could be legitimate private reasons to sell scooters that would preclude federal laws
As for federal and provincial legislation, most of what Toronto is looking for is specific to our own operating environment (Barbara Gray wants wheel size limits from the province, but could just do it in a bylaw, since we are 1/3 cities in the province with streetcar tracks - her reason)
Secondly it’s not just that they can’t be operated. They also can’t be parked on public property. This goes against the cities own hopes to minimize fires (a very unlikely thing to begin with), but outdoor storage can reduce the risk (as can a well maintained shared system)
First off, any shared scooter system in Toronto should be run by the city and use existing bike share docks…PBSC (now Lyft) the company that sells us the bikes and docks sells scooters that fit in the docks…they can also be operated in a hybrid mode where they can be parked in defined spots…
Thanks to @shawnmicallef.bsky.social for a much more optimistic look at e-scooters…The Star has not been kind to us in the past…lots of good stuff in here, but we just want to highlight a few things that we think would help steer the debate 🧵 www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Then not having insurance will keep people accountable. You can just take them to court if there is a problem.
We’d love to know if you have any stats pointing to the need for insurance…how much liability are edevices responsible for?
If you think that’s a good way to go, we believe a surcharge on the sale of all new e-devices could accomplish that better than requiring everyone to acquire it individually…we don’t think it’s necessary though, and should come from those who cause the actual damage - drivers…
A ban was never intended to change behaviour. It was intended to protect the city from lawsuits from scooter riders who were injured by their poorly maintained infrastructure…
In any case, there is nearly no chance of scooters damaging property or seriously injuring others when they are being used reasonably…most of the risk is to the rider, and entirely comes from drivers/vehicles which already have insurance or bad infrastructure (ie the city which also has insurance)
Licensing and liability don’t make sense for a variety of reasons…although limiting liability for those without drivers licenses or not having done the voluntary training could be something that helps ensure people have done some road training…but it would need to apply to e-bikes as well…
