E-SCOOTERS HITTING CITY STREETS STARTING IN APRIL

THE PILOT PROGRAM WILL RUN FOR 2 YEARS BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER

The City of Brampton is launching a pilot program for shared e-scooter rentals on city streets starting next month.

The pilot program will run for two years between April and November. The city said three companies — Neuron Mobility, Scooty and Bird Canada — were selected through a request for proposal process to provide the scooter rentals.

"We are delighted to have been chosen by the City of Brampton to provide our e-scooters as part of this trial and thank them for their trust and support. E-scooters will be a great way for locals as well as tourists to travel in a safe, convenient and environmentally friendly way," said Neuron Mobility head of marketing Ankush Karwal in a release.

The city said each company will be allowed to place up to 250 scooters on Brampton streets. The system is similar to bike sharing. People can use their credit or debit card to rent the scooters for a set amount of time and leave them around the city when finished with them for others to use.

Rental station locations and costs have yet to be determined but will be made public upon the launch of the program.

Several cities across Canada have adopted shared e-scooter rentals programs. The scooters will be set up at stations on city streets available to anyone who wished to rent them for a fee to get around.

"E-scooters are permitted to operate within city's boundaries, on roads with posted speeds less than 50 km/h, bike lanes, multi-use paths, and recreational trails or park paths," the city said, adding their use will be prohibited on sidewalks.

"They are prohibited on sidewalks or on any roadway that also prohibits pedestrians and/or bicycles. They can be parked in the boulevard without obstructing. E-scooters can be parked in the furniture and planting zone and must not be parked in a way that obstructs or interferes in the pedestrian zone and frontage or marketing zones at any time," it added.

The Brampton Board of Trade (BBOT) has endorsed the e-scooter initiative and believe it will have a positive impact on local businesses.

"E-scooter programs like Neuron, have a positive impact on businesses and the wider community and we look forward to working with Neuron to ensure local businesses are able to capitalize on this new mode of transportation," said BBOT CEO Todd Letts in Neuron's release.