E-Scooter systems have taken the world by storm. Almost 250 cities in the United States have implemented e-scooter programs. In Canada, one of the largest e-scooter companies recorded 1.3 million trips in 2021, and the brand already has plans to expand to 12 municipalities in 2022.
For many people, e-scooters provide a welcome transportation option in crowded cities. They are alternatives to bulky public transit systems (like buses or trains) that often delay or drop riders off from their ideal destination. They also provide an option for driving and can cut carbon emissions in dense areas.
However, some cities are taking a step back from e-scooters. Every innovation has its benefits and drawbacks. The City of Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is currently reviewing its e-scooter test program and could potentially pull scooters from the streets. The city’s accessibility committee is the primary driver against the e-scooter program.
What makes e-scooters inaccessible? What can cities do to keep these devices while helping residents with disabilities? Get to know the Ottawa City Council discussion and what could come of it.
Improperly stored e-scooters create hazards for pedestrians
One of the biggest concerns around e-scooter use is how they are parked. In theory, these scooters are placed strategically across the city. Riders find a scooter near them and unlock it with their phones. They can then use it to reach their destination. The scooters charge users a per-mile fee similar to a taxi or rideshare. When the rider reaches their destination, they end the ride, and the scooter becomes locked again.
When done well, e-scooters move across the city throughout the day. Riders can pick up nearby scooters when they get out of work for an easy way to get home. They can ride a scooter to a downtown stadium to catch a sporting event. These scooters should be placed near bike racks or out of the way of pedestrians or cars.
However, things don’t always go well. Across many cities, e-scooters have become nuisances. Not only do riders not follow the rules set by the city for them (avoiding the sidewalk, avoiding certain high-pedestrian areas, etc.), but they also leave their scooters everywhere. You can find scooters thrown around in parks or left lying in the middle of the sidewalk. This is where accessibility becomes an issue.
A fallen scooter in the middle of the sidewalk creates a severe tripping hazard. Anyone who is not actively looking at their feet could fall over and seriously injure themselves. These scooters also create barriers. People who use wheelchairs, crutches, or canes may have difficulty going around the scooters. People who are blind may not understand what kind of device is blocking their way and how to go around it.
In the past year, the City of Ottawa has received 1,443 complaints about poorly parked e-scooters. There are likely dozens of people who were annoyed by every complaint but didn’t contact city hall about the issue.
There’s no way to regulate improper storage
The improper storage of e-scooters is the main driver behind the Ottawa City Council’s concern for the future of the scooter program. The city’s accessibility advisory committee voted 7-1 to urge the council to ban e-scooters in public places. If passed, the move could potentially cause e-scooter companies to pull out of the city.
The committee highlights the problem that there is no potential solution to stop residents from abandoning their scooters across the city. The nature of e-scooters is that they can be found anywhere, and you don’t have to find a station or parking area to use one.
There’s no way to track who used the scooters because the companies would have to submit their user data to the city’s police. Even then, a rider could place a scooter securely out of the way, only to have someone else knock it over into the sidewalk.
This is what is frustrating government employees. How can city residents have access to this popular transit option without negatively affecting people with disabilities or anyone who happens to be using the sidewalk?
Council members are brainstorming e-scooter solutions
Rather than placing restrictions on e-scooter programs, local council members in Ottawa are brainstorming ways to increase accessibility and safety. One option is to increase the amount of money in fees collected from scooter companies to cover the cost of city resources to maintain them. This would allow the city to staff more people to place scooters in safe places across Ottawa.
Additionally, the city is considering mandating noises for the scooters, which could alert pedestrians that someone was approaching them. Right now, the scooters are almost entirely silent, which means pedestrians and drivers alike are at risk of not knowing they are there until it is too late. Noise suggestions range from fake engines to steady beeping.
The idea of adding noises has divided council members. Using sound isn’t necessarily an accessible indicator that danger is approaching. This also only addresses the concern about active scooter users. There’s no warning sound for an abandoned scooter that a pedestrian is about to trip over.
Banning e-scooters puts the spotlight on mobility devices
Despite the flaws of mobility scooters, some accessibility proponents aren’t in a rush to ban them from the streets. Brian Wade provided the only dissenting vote on the accessibility advisory committee’s call to ban e-scooters.
Wade explained that banning e-scooters isn’t the best option and that it opens the door to discuss other mobility devices – including bikes. A rule written poorly with vague, overbroad language could set the stage to ban multiple mobility devices across Ottawa. This could make the city less accessible as people would have fewer options to use assistive transportation devices.
“My thought is that by banning the use of e-scooters you are in fact banning the use of these people’s mobility devices,” says Wade. “Because these are ‘non-traditional’ mobility devices, I am afraid that the rights of those that choose to use these types of mobility devices are not being respected.”
Wade also says the standard bicycle poses just as much of a threat as an e-scooter does to residents of Ottawa. In some cases, bikes could even cause more significant harm than e-scooters.
This e-scooter debate highlights the challenges that come with developing accessible policies. Building awareness about an inaccessible system is often only the first part; the next stage is developing equitable policies that are also effective.
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