(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

get ready for year two

City of Red Deer releases e-scooter survey results for pilot’s first year

Feb 11, 2022 | 9:58 AM

Survey results show how well the City of Red Deer’s e-scooter pilot project rolled out in its first year.

In all, 109,245 riders took a whirl last summer, with 3.556 kilometres the average distance travelled, and 22 minutes the average ride time.

Last November, the City heard from about 1,700 residents about their compliments and complaints with respect to e-scooters.

Top compliments included:

-brought more people to downtown
-e-scooter companies were great to work with
-fun to use, and gets you outside

THIRD READING POSTPONED

Sylvan town council takes step forward in updating downtown development process

17h ago

two-vehicle collision

Highway 2 reopened after collision south of Ponoka

18h ago

Financial decision

Town of Innisfail to renovate Aquatic Centre rather than build new facility

Jan 14, 2025

Top complaints included:

-e-scooter parking issues (unsafe areas/no designated areas)
-rider etiquette (coming up too fast behind, not using the bell)
-seeing underage riders
-low speed

Top 10 pick up locations

o Bower Transit Terminal
o Capstone
o Collicutt Centre
o Great Chief Park/Kiwanis Picnic Park
o Bower Ponds
o Bower Mall
o Veterans Park
o Sorensen Parkade
o Heritage Ranch
o McKenzie Trails

Total # of complaints received by the companies = 1,228

Top 3 complaints to the companies from customers

o Larger Operating Zone
o Longer season of operation
o Fees/Cost

Total number of injuries reported = 13

Reported injuries include minor scratches and bruises (4) and muscle injuries (2). At least one person said they required surgery due to an e-scooter-related injury.

“What we heard loud and clear was that e-scooters were fun, engaging and a success for our community. Not only did it add to the quality of life of our residents, but it also boosted our local and downtown economy, and was successful for the e-scooter companies that chose to set up shop in our city,” says Amy Fengstad, Parking and Licensing Supervisor. “We are thankful Red Deerians embraced this new program and are excited to bring them back this summer.”

Meantime, the most used e-scooters were those from the company Neuron, with more than 54,600 rides. The next closest was over 22,400 Roll e-scooters. Five companies took part in the pilot. Neuron and Spin had the most unique rider IDs created, with over 13,700 and 8,500, respectively.

Neuron also provided feedback to the City asking that council consider a capped operator model going forward. This would determine which companies can operate on a competitive basis, and yield higher economies of scale for operators, Neuron wrote. They also opine that this would allow the City to set a standard for safety and operational requirements.

Spin wrote that the City could limit the number of operators, while Roll says narrowing it down to one or two providers would benefit the program overall.

City council will discuss the survey results and possible avenues forward when it meets on Feb. 14.