Scoot Toronto

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)

Toronto Bike Share Program | Lyft Urban Solutions Bike Share in Toronto. Over 5000 bikes and 460 smart stations, 24/7 technical support. Find out how we help Toronto run smarter and more efficiently since 2011.

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🚲 Lyft Urban Solutions' high-quality equipment Discover our unique, customized and innovative shared micromobility solutions, composed of bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters and smart stations.

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…

Shawn Micallef: E-scooters are here to stay. It’s time for Toronto to act boldly Currently Toronto’s position is, officially, “e-scooters are not permitted to be operated on public roads, sidewalks or paths,” yet it's easy to see people using them everyday, and they are

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…

We’ve never said that users shouldn’t wear safety gear or that they shouldn’t know the rules of the road before using them…we are actually fine with the current rules re: helmets, and age limits…we would welcome online training courses and other voluntary training for those who need it..

Toronto hospital reports 600 per cent spike in trauma cases related to e-scooter injuries St. Michael’s Hospital is emabarking on new study to help bring safety to Toronto roads after data shows an increasing number of e-scooter and e-bike accidents.

Another hit piece from the star on scooters. They seem to be churning them out at about once a month. This one about how injuries are increasing (no mention that ridership is, duh)… www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...

But the transportation department and Barbara know this….they are just making ridiculous demands of other levels of government to slow down the acceptance of e-scooters in Toronto…

The feds will never ban the sale of scooters with a small wheel size because there are legitimate use cases for having smaller wheels in certain private settings…it’s like saying that we should ban cars until the federal gov stops allowing the sale of cars that can go faster than 130km/h…

Almost all e-scooter systems now use docked or hybrid systems that require scooters to be put in specific areas. Thomson should get out more. Also maybe ride the subway a bit more as well…he sounds like he doesn’t get out much…