This summer, people will have a new way to navigate the city as E-Scooters are being introduced by city council.
Council recently voted in favour of a shared e-scooter program for the city, giving citizens an alternative and sustainable way to get around town.
The vote also included a last-minute change to allow privately owned scooters to be included.
Ward 9 Councillor Jason Mancinelli proposed an amendment at this week’s city council meeting that would allow for private e-scooter use on public roadways, which was unanimously passed.
“I think for (the public) to have confidence and faith in us, we have to make strong legislation that has a common-sense component to it,” Mancinelli said. “If we’re making a rule that we have no hope of enforcing and everyone’s gonna flaunt it, when are people going to actually believe in the rules we make?”
Andrew Reist spoke at city council about implementing private scooters, and is happy to see the change take place.
“I think it’s important that general residents of Regina have the opportunity to ride their own e-scooters if they own them,” Reist said.
Reist said before the change was made, there was no real point in citizens investing in their own e-scooters. Now however, it’s a chance to make an environmental impact.
“I feel great about having e-scooters here. Whether they are vendor-run or private,” he said. “It is a really good opportunity to lower emissions.”
In terms of next steps, the city is set to post a request for application (RFA) where vendors interested in operating e-scooters in the city can apply.
Once two vendors have been approved, the city said e-scooter services will then be available through apps operated by the chosen vendors.
E-scooters will be allowed on bike lanes, park pathways, multi-use pathways and roads with a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour or less.
The city said rental costs for e-scooters and permitted riding areas will be announced further once the program launches.
The tentative schedule would see the program in effect between July and Oct. 31 this year and then May to Oct. 31 in 2024.