Halifax launching shared e-bike, scooter pilot program

Anyone visiting or living in Halifax will be able to grab an electric bicycle or scooter this spring as part of the city's first regulated micromobility pilot project — featuring new technology to prevent users from riding on the sidewalk.

The Halifax Regional Municipality chose Bird Canada as the sole provider of the two-year project in February, and a city spokesperson said the program aims to launch in May.

Bird will start with 300 e-scooters and 300 e-bikes in the first phase, but that could grow to an entire fleet of about 1,000 of the lightweight vehicles depending on demand.

Pat Graham, general manager of Bird Canada, said users will only be able to park or pick up the scooters and bikes at designated stations.

Graham said they can also set slow zones where scooters are set to a lower speed limit than usual, or no-ride areas where the device will safely come to a stop.

"We can see when people ride on the sidewalk. So one, they should be brought to a stop, but two … we will send a warning," Graham said Friday.

"It'll be a little bit different than I think in the past, where you could end your ride kind of wherever you'd like."

Each bike or scooter will have an attached helmet, but Graham said Bird will also offer helmet giveaways so people can have their own.

Scooters are currently treated like bicycles under the Motor Vehicle Act and must travel in bike lanes, most multi-use paths or the roadway. Riding on sidewalks is already illegal but has been hard to enforce. 

With the Bird system, riders are continually charged if they abandon the scooter outside a designated station, which can become "quite expensive," Graham said. After an initial warning outlining any improper behaviour, he said a second incident leads to a fine, and a third strike gets a user banned from the service.

Their Bird app will also include a sobriety test feature that can be turned on at night, often around 10 or 11 p.m., which includes puzzles and a road safety quiz riders have to pass.

"Obviously drinking and riding is heavily discouraged from our perspective and we don't want anyone doing that," Graham said.

The bikes and scooters will be set up near bus stops, bus terminals and ferry terminals so people can combine a trip with transit. Graham said they are now planning where the parking stations will be.

"We're filling in transportation gaps, whether it's from an underserved community based on routes, or just timing," Graham said.

The service will start in the urban core of Halifax and Dartmouth, and will eventually spread throughout suburban and rural areas of the region.

But the city's existing companies now can't offer shared scooters on city roads.

Max Rastelli, owner of HFX e-Scooters, said his own bid fit all the technical criteria for the program and was shortlisted. Rastelli said he hoped Halifax would select two operators, which was a possibility in the tender, but he was ultimately not chosen.

In the future, Rastelli said he'd like Halifax to put more emphasis on supporting smaller local businesses in the procurement process.

Now he will only offer scooters on the Halifax waterfront, which is not city property.

"That's what's going to significantly change our business, and it will impact revenues big time," Rastelli said.

He is now exploring expanding shared scooter services to Sydney and other municipalities around the province.

CBC contacted MoVe Scooters, another current local operator, but did not receive a response.

When asked about Bird's reaction to displacing existing operators, Graham said the decision lies with Halifax and they are grateful to be selected. 

But Graham said they will be needing experienced staff for the Halifax program, and are reaching out to other operators to see if they would join the Bird team.

Halifax first city in Atlantic region to use Bird

Pricing is still being finalized, but Graham said the standard rate is $1 to unlock a bike or scooter and then $0.35 per minute for a ride. They will also offer discounted day, week or monthly passes for commuters who expect to ride multiple times a day, like $10 for 60 minutes of riding.

A monthly Bird pass would be similarly priced to a monthly Halifax Transit pass, Graham said.

"Not everyone can afford their own e-bike. They're pretty expensive," Graham said.

"So to have the ability to use this form of transportation in a more equitable way for … lower-income groups is incredibly important to allow them to access their city in the same way that others have the opportunity to already."

Bird is set up in nearly 30 municipalities across the country, including Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. Halifax is its first location in Atlantic Canada.