It was a spur of the moment decision for Kirstin Butler and John Seddon to try the new e-scooters out in Lethbridge. Butler said despite the cold weather they had a blast.
“We were ripping around the park and people were pointing and laughing at us,” she said. “We were having a really good time — it definitely brought out the inner child in us, that’s for sure.”
Butler added the process was simple and user friendly. “It was very clear, the instructions were super clear and simple and easy to follow. I thought it was pretty cool.”
Ankush Karwal is the regional manager and head of markets for Canada with Neuron Mobility. He said the feedback for the e-scooters and e-bikes has been amazing.
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“We actually are thrilled by the response we’ve got from the community in Lethbridge,” he said. “It’s only been about two weeks but when we launched we had representatives from the city, local businesses, showing their support.”
As of April 22, the micro-mobility option had seen more than 6,500 Lethbridge rides totaling more than 13,000 kilometres travelled.
“Its still extremely early out in the program, we like to wait a little while to see how the trends actually stabilize,” Karwal said.
The company is rolling out the scooters and bikes in a phased approach, and usage will determine when the next phase is rolled out.
“Our scooters and e-bikes are ridden through the west (and) the south, covering an area of about 47 square kilometres,” Karwal said.
Butler said they have no complaints about the process, but wouldn’t mind seeing some added cleaning options in the future.
“I’m just a germ freak, so I wiped down the helmet before I put it on,” she said. “So maybe having individual wipes or something that you could wipe down the helmet and the handle bars with or something, but other than that it was super easy to use.”
The company is planning to hold some educational events in the future to help people feel more comfortable while scooting around the city.