Halifax's shared e-bike, scooter pilot causing some accessibility issues, say advocates

In the last week, Tara Niekamp has come across electric scooters from Halifax's new micromobility pilot program parked where they're not supposed to be — in the middle of the sidewalk.

For people who are blind or have sight loss, this can pose an injury risk, Niekamp said. And even if someone notices it ahead of time, there are still challenges.

"The natural path around it may not be as obvious," said Niekamp, who lives with sight loss and is co-chair of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's volunteer Nova Scotia strategic leadership council.

"You may end up having to backtrack and reroute yourself, which can be really challenging, especially if you're new to blindness or low vision and you've only got a couple sort of routes that you feel really confident and safe doing."

The devices are supposed to be taken from and dropped off in specific parking areas. But in the location where CBC News interviewed Niekamp on Monday, one scooter was seen outside the area marked off on the ground by white tape.

Michelle Mahoney, who is a person with a disability and accessibility officer for the University of King's College, has seen the new scooters obstructing sidewalks multiple times.

"That's not good," she said.

The two-year pilot program launched on May 15 with the aim of improving urban transportation options. There are nearly 600 e-bikes and e-scooters now dotted around urban areas of Halifax and Dartmouth, according to Bird Canada, the company delivering the program.

So far, riders have travelled more than 24,000 kilometres, with an average trip length of 2.8 kilometres, said Austin Spademan, head of government partnerships for the company.

Bird has a team of 15 people who patrol the city to address issues, such as where the devices are parked. There will be more staff hired, he said.

Spademan said the company also uses technology to prevent devices from being left in the middle of the sidewalk.

"It's using Google AI to validate where that device is parked … basically to the centimetre level," he said.

If a rider leaves a device outside of a designated parking area, they are given a warning. A fine is issued for a second infraction and a ban is issued on the third occasion.

Spademan said no fines have been issued in Halifax. Based on other places across Canada where the company operates, he said people issued a warning do not reoffend in about 98 per cent of cases.