Yes, true. (but we should permit on roads)
Still, the topic discussion is important for lawmakers, city councils, Ontario rules, etc
The class is so murky. IMHO, some classes are permittable on roads (especially in bike lanes) as long as they are fast enough to keep up with bicycle speed. In downtown Toronto, there is no room on the sidewalk for electric kickscooters, so naturally they belong where bikes belong.
Even backpack-size units can go up to
25 kilometers per hour -- slightly too fast for narrow sidewalks. (Example,
this $399 backpack-sized one is capable of 25kph, faster than an average running speed). So that's why electric kickscooter scooter rentals (in cities that permits them on sidewalks) have legislation to limit their speed, and the speed limits are pre-programmed into them.
That backpack unit can go These electric kickscooters can go up to 25kph -- the speed of a fast bike pedal.
The Scooter-Thru-Motorocycle Continuum
But as I have witnessed enough cities, I have seen that it is a
blend continuum all the way from this-to-Vespa
- Tiny backpack-packable electric kickscooters (Some that only maintain speed; you have to kick-assist them to speed).
- Larger electric kickscooters (Some that can accelerate to 25kph)
- Even larger electric kickscooters (Screamers that can go 40kph while you're standing on them, eek)
- Electric kickscooters that has a tiny bike chair sprouting out of it
- Scooter-looking electric scooters that has a slightly beefier chair
- Vespa-looking electric scooters
- Full size electric motorcycles.
It's a complete continuous morph continuum now, from tiny backpack units, all the way to a full size electric motorcycle.
So naturally, the law needs to get involved to regulate weight & speed.
Ultra-Small Backpack Units
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source)
Common USA "Scan-And-Ride" Scooter-Share Rental (Bird, Lime)
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source)
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source)
In some cities, the above Bird kickscooter was programmed to go up to ~25kph and law in some cities required these to go on the road, not the sidewalk. (And vice versa in others, with a slower speed cap).
Then add a bit more juice, and it can go as fast as cars on arteries -- power forward at ~50kph. (I'll never ride these, eek).
Larger Electric Scooters / Some With And Without Chair
Smaller than the bigger electric kickscooter without a chair, but now adds a chair and veers into seated motor vehicle territory while still only going roughly as fast as a bicycle.
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source,
source) --
Then the beefier one below goes up to 40mph (65kph), way too fast for sidewalks.
Beginning To Look Like Pedal-Less E-Bikes
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source,
source)
WIth Pedals Attached
Then you can see that it is yet another continuum between that towards an electric motorcycle.
I actually left out a lot of in-between images, but the continuum exist between tiny electric kickscooters all the way to full sized units.
The problem is that the word "scooter" confuses people -- just as it confused Admiral Beez -- (which proves my point too, that the lawmakers of Ontario need to fix the scooter laws which are, frankly, ridiculus as I want to ride one here in Ontario -- not even allowed on sidewalk, not even allowed on road, where the hell can I ride!!!)
My opinion: Scooters of the backpack class through Lime/Bird class that can go as fast as a bicycle, should be allowed in any bike infrastructure (bike lanes, bike trails, multiuse trails, roads). Anything bigger (like those 40mph scooters) can only be allowed on roads, even if those do not have a seat on them. Remember....some backpack-class scooters can now go 25kph today --
faster than you can run. If you go that speed, you have to do it on the road just like a bicycle.
Ain't this a fun discussion for those experienced with scooters and the murky, fuzzy line...
As it stands now, Bird/Lime is banned in Ontario (
not allowed on roads, not allowed on sidewalks), so you don't see those common USA scootershare in Canada (yet).
Even the Bird/Lime class electric kickscooters can still go
fast enough to injure pedestrians (and kill one), although less risk of injury than a collision with a bike. At minimum for this scooter class, they should be disallowed in areas where bikes are disallowed. As cities have rapidly improving bike infrastructure (bike lanes), the best solution is to mode-merge bike-speed electric kickscooters into bike infrastructure. On the other hand, electric kickscooters up to 20kph are
legal on sidewalks in Calgary, and Lime scootershare has arrived there -- except Calgary has chosen to make them legal on sidewalks, and with an electronic 20kph limit, but not on roads (except where there's a cycle lane or cycle track).
So that's why I make a big fuss -- right now
one of our Hamilton city councillors rides an electric skateboard to work, but putting any pole in that for improved safety/stability is (currently) illegal !? !? !? Lime
visited Hamilton recently, to demo their electric kickscooters in front of Hamilton City Hall for councillors and for the public.
Not Allowed: No road. No sidewalk. No bike lane. Can't ride at all:
It's currently essentially illegal in Ontario to ride a Lime or Bird electric kickscooter in Toronto or Hamilton.
In general, currently not possible in Ontario. Can't ride an inch anywhere on municipal property except by special permission -- not even on sidewalk, not even on road, not even in a bike lane. Boo.
In the long term, the scootershare discussion becomes an important topic which will wring as many fists as the bikeshare debate (between the pro/anti). Few people care now, but many will suddenly care once electric kickscooters start flooding Toronto just like they are flooding Calgary and soon Montreal (they just finally got a permit just only last week!).
So that's why this thread is hijacked -- With an
important bigger discussion that will need to be resolved by 2020 so that Bird/Lime style scooter-share can safely and properly come to Ontario. Ride on sidewalks, we get complaints from pedestrians (speed, injuries, rudeness from scooter users). Ride on roads, and we have the attendant safety issues and related requirements (licensing, helmets, age limits, etc). DIfferent cities have come up with different solutions, some safer and some that add risk. So it's a larger discussion that will begin to play out in Ontario -- I'm just an early canary here.
The use of Lime/Bird in cities I visit are pretty nice, I was able to cover an actual 8 kilometers in less than half an hour in a city I was visiting, so that's quite a "available speed on tap" that competes with transit apps and bikeshare apps, when I can just walk up to a scooter, press a couple of buttons on my smartphone, and ride away. It was actually faster than Uber. Shame I'm not even allowed this option at all in Ontario.
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