Halifax launching shared e-bike, scooter pilot

Anyone visiting or living in Halifax will be able to grab an electric bicycle or scooter this spring as part of the city's first regulated micromobility pilot — featuring new technology to prevent users from riding on the sidewalk.

The Halifax Regional Municipality chose Bird Canada as the sole provider of the two-year pilot in February, and a city spokesperson said the program aims to launch in May.

Bird will start with 300 e-scooters and 300 e-bikes in the first phase, but that could grow to an entire fleet of about 1,000 of the lightweight vehicles depending on demand.

Pat Graham, general manager of Bird Canada, said users will only be able to park or pick up the scooters and bikes at designated stations.

Graham said they can also set slow zones where scooters are set to a lower speed limit than usual, or no-ride areas where the device will safely come to a stop.

"We can see when people ride on the sidewalk. So one, they should be brought to a stop, but two … we will send a warning," Graham said Friday.

"It'll be a little bit different than I think in the past, where you could end your ride kind of wherever you'd like."

Each bike or scooter will have an attached helmet, but Graham said Bird will also offer helmet giveaways so people can have their own.

Scooters are currently treated like bicycles under the Motor Vehicle Act and must travel in bike lanes, most multi-use paths or the roadway. Riding on sidewalks is already illegal but has been hard to enforce. 

With the Bird system, riders are continually charged if they abandon the scooter outside a designated station, which can become "quite expensive," Graham said. After an initial warning outlining any improper behaviour, he said a second incident leads to a fine, and a third strike gets a user banned from the service.

Their Bird app will also include a sobriety test feature that can be turned on at night, often around 10 or 11 p.m., which includes puzzles and a road safety quiz riders have to pass.

"Obviously drinking and riding is heavily discouraged from our perspective and we don't want anyone doing that," Graham said.

The bikes and scooters will be set up near bus stops, bus terminals and ferry terminals so people can combine a trip with transit. Graham said they are now planning where the parking stations will be.

"We're filling in transportation gaps, whether it's from an underserved community based on routes, or just timing," Graham said.