Illegal use of e-scooters concerns Mississauga councillor, who wants more help from cops

Mississauga officials are turning to Peel Regional Police for help in dealing with one particular safety issue some feel has come about during the rollout of the city’s new electric scooter and bicycle initiative.

Specifically, city councillors hope police can dish out more tickets/fines to those who use e-scooters and e-bikes illegally on sidewalks, becoming a nuisance to and potentially endangering pedestrians.

Although the 900 electric kick-style scooters (e-scooters) and 300 electric pedal-assist bicycles (e-bikes) available for rent under the City of Mississauga’s new program are equipped with technology that shuts the devices’ power off should users try to ride them on sidewalks and in other prohibited areas, that doesn’t fully address the matter, city officials acknowledge.

Also, they note, personally owned e-scooters and e-bikes not part of the city’s initiative aren’t similarly controlled by such technology.

Despite the power-off technology that’s featured on all of the micromobility devices operated by the city’s program, “some individuals may still attempt to ride on the sidewalk,” a city spokesperson said in an email to INsauga.com, adding the experience of riding on the sidewalk without power “is generally unfavourable and problematic” for the user.

“The motor will disengage when the geofencing detects that the device is in a no-ride zone such as a sidewalk,” the spokesperson continued. “However, an individual user may still attempt to ride along the sidewalk by manually pushing the e-scooter along with their foot or pedaling the e-bike.”

The only devices that have the ability to be used with power on the city’s sidewalks are those personally owned by people and not provided through the city’s rental program.

Operating those e-scooters and e-bikes on sidewalks is in violation of Mississauga’s traffic bylaws, the city added.

“The city publishes educational material about safe and proper operation of e-scooters and e-bikes, which makes it clear that sidewalk riding is not permitted,” the city spokesperson noted.

112,000 e-scooter, e-bike trips taken so far across the city

A number of the more than 112,000 trips taken by users of the e-scooters and e-bikes since the program was launched June 21 have included instances in which the alternative modes of transportation were illegally used on Mississauga sidewalks, councillors say.

Numerous residents have complained to the city their safety is being jeopardized by the devices travelling where they don’t belong.

One resident who contacted INsauga.com via email said he was nearly hit on at least one occasion by someone riding an e-scooter on the sidewalk as he walked his dog.

When it comes to enforcement, only police are empowered to dole out tickets/fines for moving violations involving e-scooters and e-bikes, Matthew Sweet, the city’s manager of active transportation, told councillors last week.

Sweet added while the city has had some discussions with Peel police, they haven’t yet taken a deep dive into the matter.

Ward 11 Coun. Brad Butt wants Peel Regional Police to be more proactive in ticketing e-scooter and e-bike users who illegally travel on city sidewalks.

Ward 11 Coun. Brad Butt recently raised the issue, suggesting the city should more aggressively pursue the matter with police in order to penalize those on e-scooters and e-bikes who break the rules.

“We may want to have a conversation with Peel Regional Police and bring them a little bit more up to date on what’s going on, what are the standard complaints and concerns that we’re hearing,” said Butt. “Maybe parts of the city where the program is more heavily utilized than others … I would just suggest that the police be a little bit more proactive.”

Speaking about the e-scooter/e-bike initiative in more general terms, the councillor said while it has “some warts on it that need to be addressed,” he supports moving forward with the program.

Police already stretched thin in responding to calls

Three weeks ago, Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah, speaking at a meeting of the Peel Police Service Board, said the front-line officer ranks are already spread too thin and not able to respond to all the calls for service in Mississauga and Brampton.

Launched in June, Mississauga’s first shared micromobility program has made the 300 e-bikes and 900 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 last week.

In a news release issued last week, 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.”

Several adjustments to the program have been promised for 2025, the city added.

Mississauga has partnered with Bird Canada, the country’s longest-operating shared micromobility provider, and Lime, a worldwide shared electric vehicle company, in rolling out its e-scooter/e-bike program.

City’s partners say they’re committed to e-scooter, e-bike safety

Austin Spademan, head of government partnerships for Bird Canada, told INsauga.com in an email his organization is “deeply committed to ensuring our e-scooter programs remain safe, sustainable and responsible. We have completed over 86,000 trips so far this year (in Mississauga) and have done over 15 community events to help educate people on how to ride and park.”

He added Bird Canada works closely with the city “to address concerns from rider education to parking compliance and we are continually refining our operations to align with community needs.”

In high-use areas of Mississauga such as Port Credit, Spademan said Bird Canada deploys a Safe Streets Team that conducts regular walking patrols to “monitor and address parking compliance, rider behavior and community concerns, ensuring that e-scooters are being used responsibly and respectfully in busy public spaces.”

He also noted every city that runs e-scooter/e-bike programs “has growing pains in its first year.”

Lime told INsauga.com earlier it also works closely with the city to help ensure the program runs smoothly and that any issues, including safety concerns, are addressed as quickly as possible.