Shared e-bikes and e-scooters could soon be rolling along the streets and paths of Port Moody.
A staff report to be presented to council’s strategic priorities committee on Tuesday, Feb. 18, recommends the city procure an operator for an e-bike and e-scooter share system to be in place as soon as this summer.
The report’s author, senior sustainability and energy coordinator Christopher Brown, said such a system would support Port Moody’s climate action and master transportation plans by providing sustainable transportation options and reducing vehicle dependency.
Brown said the city would partner with a third-party operator which would be responsible for maintaining and insuring the fleet of e-bikes and e-scooters, manage the mobile app and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
“These programs would provide low-cost transportation options that complement active transportation and transit, and make use of Port Moody’s expanding cycle lane network,” Brown said in his report, adding nearby communities like Coquitlam, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver have had “positive results” with similar e-bike and e-scooter share programs.
Brown said other than staff time to procure the operator and design a parking plan for the e-bikes and e-scooters, the cost of the share program would be entirely borne by the operator. As well, the city would collect fees of $50 annually for each e-bike and e-scooter and 10 cents for each trip.
The third-party operator would also have to pay an annual security deposit of $10,000 against which Port Moody could deduct any expenses it incurs like retrieving or impounding e-bikes and e-scooters that have been improperly parked.
In his report, Brown suggested a fleet of 150 e-bikes and e-scooters be deployed in the first six months of the program, expanding to 250 by the end of its first year. Each would have to be equipped with functional lights front and back, a cargo basket, kickstand, fenders, bell or horn, and a helmet. Their speed would be limited to no more than 25 km/h.
Brown said the e-bikes and e-scooters would be parked in designated areas marked with tape or paint at the outset of the program to allow adjustments to be made to their location as required before they’re permanently set with paint. Whether the e-bikes and e-scooters are physically docked in stations, placed in augmented reality parking or tracked with bluetooth beacons would be determined with the operator, which would also have to ensure the devices don’t clutter or block sidewalks, pathways, lanes, driveways or bus stops.
Brown said the parking areas should be near transit stops, destinations like Eagle Ridge Hospital and Port Moody’s downtown heritage area, parks like Rocky Point and Old Orchard, as well as along bike routes, in commercials zones and at community centres.
“Ideally, all of Port Moody would be within .5 km (about a six-minute walk) from a designated parking/docking area,” said Brown.
In 2020, Port Moody council declined to participate in a provincially sponsored pilot program for e-scooters, citing concerns about their safety and the devices being scattered haphazardly around the city.
But in a 2023 report, Port Moody’s general manager of engineering and operations, Jeff Moi, said times have changed, services and evolved and consumers have become more accepting of the devices.
Brown said they help “bridge the gap between transit stops and final destinations, addressing the ‘first-mile/last-mile’ issue.”
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