Bird Canada will deploy self-service electric scooters this summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau, where they are trying to reduce car traffic. The company, which is one of those who disappeared from Montreal after a single season in 2019, promises this time a “lasting solution”.
From 1er July, and until next November 15, Bird’s scooters will therefore be back in the metropolis, but will not be able to circulate outside Parc Jean-Drapeau, in other words only on the islands of Notre-Dame and Sainte-Hélène. According to our information, the purpose of the pilot project is to test whether a possible wider return is possible or conceivable in another “closed” circuit, potentially on the island.
About 200 scooters will be available “gradually”. To avoid a new ordeal, however, the company promises that its machines “will all be equipped with a GPS tracking system” and “will circulate within the limits of Parc Jean-Drapeau”. It will also be possible to establish “reduced-speed zones and to ensure compliance with parking rules”, since thanks to the mobile application, journeys cannot be ended elsewhere than in the planned parking zones.
It must be said that the trauma is still recent for the City, which had abandoned the experience of electric scooters in 2019: barely 20% of the scooters were stored in the reserved areas.
They often found themselves in places where they interfered with traffic and their cohabitation with pedestrians and cyclists was difficult. In total, 324 statements of offense were issued by the Montreal police for non-compliance with the Highway Safety Code, mainly for not wearing a helmet.
More monitoring
Montreal assures us: no question of repeating the same mistakes. “If once again there are major issues that arise, we will make the necessary decisions, but I have good hopes that it will go well,” says the head of mobility on the Montreal executive committee, Sophie Mauzerolle.
Scooters will only be allowed between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and Bird Canada employees will be on site “at all times to ensure the smooth running” of the situation and “to educate users on the rules to follow”.
Mme Mauzerolle cites in particular “the technological improvement” of companies, but also the “circumscribed” territory of Parc Jean-Drapeau and the tightening of rules. “There will be very strict supervision in terms of speed, the number of scooters, the areas accessible to service, but also the locking areas. We think we will really limit the stakes, ”says the elected official.
According to her, the return of commercial and larger fleets to Montreal is not impossible in the long term, but not immediately. “If applicable, it should complement a current offer, meet a need and not compete with other modes like BIXI. »
Helmets will remain “compulsory for all users in the park,” Bird Canada said Wednesday. To ensure compliance with the rules, the user will have to take a selfie in the mobile application “which will detect in real time the wearing of a helmet”. It will be allowed to wear its own helmet, but each scooter will be equipped with a helmet “cleaned frequently”, promises the company. Its president, Stewart Lyons, believes he has in hand “a lasting solution to make this season a success”.
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- 80%
- The choice of Parc Jean-Drapeau is not insignificant: a few years ago, the City announced that it wanted to reduce parking spaces by 80% and reduce the number of cars in general. And Bird Canada rightly estimates that “one out of three scooter trips replaces a car trip”.
CITY OF MONTREAL