Electric scooter sharing service – A new way to get around town is coming to the streets of Montreal this summer – the ‘E-Scooter’. Montreal will be the first city in Canada to have the electric scooters from JUMP (owned by Uber), who is also planning to launch an e-bike service as well. Bixi is going to have some competition.
Through the Uber app on your smartphone you will be able to locate an e-scooter, as they will be equipped with GPS – and then even be able to activate it from your phone. They will first be introduced only in the downtown core and will only be allowed on streets and bike paths and not on sidewalks. There will be designated areas near intersections where they can be parked, so you will not be able to just leave them anywhere. Noting that in other cities already using the e-scooters, where there were no regulations in place and chaos ensued around them, Montreal City Councilor Eric Alan Caldwell said last week when introducing the city’s planned regulations for the e-scooters, “We’re open to the new form of mobility, but we want to have clear control of the way they’re deployed on the street…”.
According to JUMP it will be simple to get yourself going: Make sure your Uber app is updated to the latest version, then tap Ride at the top of your screen and select Bike & Scooter. You can then reserve a scooter, find it, and then scan the QR code on the handlebar using the Uber app to unlock it – or you can walk up to a scooter, tap the blue QR code icon in the Uber app, and scan the QR code on the handlebar to unlock it. Ready to go? Make sure you have a helmet on then Kick, Push and Go!: ‘Kick off the ground 3 times to get going and press the throttle for a boost up to 15 mph. Press the brake on the left handlebar to slow down, or step on the rear brake to come to a more immediate stop’. It sounds simple enough and perhaps a fun and easier way to get around the city – although it remains to be seen if they will be used safely and not endanger other people using the streets.
