E-scooters have caused ‘chaos’ in Mississauga, says mayor, but program will continue

Mississauga’s mayor wants to scrap the city’s new electric scooter and bicycle initiative, describing it on Wednesday as “chaotic, ugly” and resembling “some crazy experiment” that’s not working.

Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s scathing rebuke came as senior staff presented a preliminary update/review on the shared e-bike and e-scooter program.

Launched June 21, the City of Mississauga’s first shared micro-mobility program made as many as 300 electric pedal-assist bicycles (e-bikes) and 900 electric kick-style scooters (e-scooters) available for people to rent and use at various places including parks, the downtown core and other neighbourhoods throughout the city.

The scooter/bike initiative has encountered some major growing pains as detailed by several city councillors back in September. Those same councillors again raised their concerns on Wednesday.

During the first few months of the program, a number of the rented scooters were abandoned in various places in the south end of the city near the waterfront, Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko said earlier, adding he’d “lost count of how many complaints I have received.”

Others, meanwhile, were being left at bicycle racks where they took up space at the expense of bikes, he added at the city council meeting in September, further describing the situation as “an ongoing battle.”

Mayor Carolyn Parrish is not a fan of the city’s e-scooter/e-bike program.

Another complaint relates to the common use of the e-scooters and e-bikes on city sidewalks, which is prohibited under the rental agreement with users.

Dasko and other councillors who’ve criticized the fledgling program on several counts also indicated on Wednesday they support the initiative moving forward — but with several major improvements to be implemented before people start using the e-scooters again next spring and summer (e-bikes can be used year-round, weather permitting). Among measures to be considered are increased fines for misuse of the motorized devices, several councillors suggested.

Parrish, though, doesn’t seem as forgiving of the program’s growing pains, declaring at Wednesday’s meeting of general committee the e-scooter/e-bike initiative is “chaotic. It’s a mess.”

The mayor said she took note of an e-scooter that had been abandoned along The Queensway, “and it stayed there for four weeks, so this is ridiculous.”

And some of the e-scooters that are “parked” by users are not secured properly, Parrish added.

Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko said his office is overrun with complaints about e-scooters.

“I’ve seen them tied to little sapling trees that we spend a fortune putting in on a boulevard. It’s complete chaos,” she said.

“This whole thing is some crazy experiment. And I would really like to abort the mission now, but I’m going to sit and listen to everybody else, but this is not working.

“It’s messy. Our city is beautiful; this is wrecking it. It’s ugly.”

Lime, a worldwide shared electric vehicle company and one of the city’s partners (Bird Canada is the other partner) in the e-scooter/e-bike program, said earlier it’s “in constant communication with city partners to address any challenges as they arise.”

A spokesperson for Lime told INsauga.com in September the company also works closely with the city “to analyze the data to respond to concerns and help inform adjustments to the parking zones … and we continue to make operational improvements to enhance the user experience.”

Lime also said it plans to help “educate the community on proper parking practices and safe e-scooter and e-bike use” through local events and rider outreach.

Sam Rogers, Mississauga’s acting commissioner of transportation and works, said staff was expecting growing pains with the e-scooter/e-bike program.

In a news release issued late Wednesday afternoon, city officials said the program will move forward and that Mississauga “is committed to ensuring the shared e-bike and e-scooter program is adaptable and continues to meet the program’s goals and objectives for the future.”

In 2025, the city says it will:

• work with service providers to add stations where e-scooters and e-bikes can be parked, particularly in high-demand locations
• review the potential to physically identify parking locations in addition to the in-app parking pins
• work with Business Improvement Areas, neighbourhood associations and community groups to strengthen community support and ensure the program meets the needs of the community
• launch the Lime Assist Program where a mobility scooter can be delivered to a user
• continue to install additional bike racks across Mississauga
• continue to maintain and expand geofenced zones for no riding and slow riding across the city

Under the program, the 900 e-scooters and 300 e-bikes are parked at more than 600 approved designated locations and locked to poles, signposts or bike racks until they are rented.

Since the launch of the program in late June, more than 112,000 trips, with a combined distance of more than 360,000 kilometres, have been taken by people using the electric-powered devices in Mississauga, staff’s preliminary update/review noted.

“Through this program, residents and visitors have another transportation option to get to work or school, run errands or travel around Mississauga,” city officials said.

Sam Rogers, Mississauga’s acting commissioner of transportation and works, said the initiative is a work in progress — and one worth continuing.

“During our first six months of the shared e-bike and e-scooter program, we were able to provide an additional mode of transportation for residents that’s sustainable, convenient and accessible,” he added. “We’re continuing to adjust the program based on residents’ and users’ feedback. We’re also planning to implement new measures like installing parking stations in high-demand areas and reviewing other opportunities for parking next year.”