First it was pedal bikes, then scooters and now electric bikes are up for rent in Kelowna as part of the city’s ridesharing program.
“It’s definitely the first time we’ve had e-bikes,” said Matt Worona, new mobility specialist with the City of Kelowna.
The program, which saw the city partner with the Ford-owned Spin company, launched in Kelowna on Monday.
“We’re realizing that with the growth we’re going to see over the next 20 years, it’s going to be very, very challenging for everybody to keep driving in their own car and support the level of growth Kelowna is about to see,” Worona told Global News.
“So giving people more choices in terms of how to get around, as well as these options that work well with things like transit or car share…are really, really important.”
The bikes offer 160 km of range, wireless charging for smartphones and a dual kickstand to keep sidewalks clear.
Spin said it costs $2 to unlock the e-bike with a 35 cent-per-minute rate after that.
Users are also able to buy one-hour, two-hour and 24-hour passes.
“It’s very similar to shared scooters that have been around in the city. You use your your smartphone to unlock it and then you pay kind of a per-minute rate for access to the service,” Worona said.
Spin currently operates e-scooters and e-bikes in over 100 cities in North America and Europe and focuses on investing in climate-friendly methods of transportation.
According to Worona, more and more small to medium-sized cities are also jumping on board.
“In Canada, we’ve really seen an explosion in this kind of service just in the last six months,” Worona said. “We’ve seen between kind of people launching either e-bike share or e-scooter share.
“We’ve seen North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Kelowna, Vernon, Windsor, Ontario, Red Deer, Okotoks, join in and launch service in just the last few months.”.
The program includes free helmet distribution and low-income access plans.
According to the city, Spin will initially launch with a limited number of e-bikes and ramp up to 100 over the first month.
The city-issued permit for Spin expires in mid-April, at which time the program will be reviewed and tweaked if necessary.
“So that we can if we want to make changes or continue with the providers that we see on the street today, Worona said.