The introduction of Bird e-scooters seems to be a hit in Okotoks.

In just a few weeks, Okotokians have had 1669 rides covering 7110 kilometres of pathway.

Bearing in mind that we may still be in somewhat of a honeymoon phase, with ridership often dropping off once the initial novelty has worn off, transportation specialist David Garnder says there's a good case for bringing in more down the line.

"The GM from Bird did indicate to me that their perspective would be more than two rides per scooter per day would be a good market, and I can tell you that we're averaging quite a bit higher than that at the moment on a daily basis."

With that said, Gardner thinks there are one or two places the town could improve in terms of safety.

The use of bells, which are fitted to every scooter, is one.

"There has been some concerns from some residents that people are not using bells to indicate that they're passing a pedestrian. A lady I was chatting to yesterday, she actually pointed out that we could probably do a lot better as a town in general terms with our use of bells," says Gardner.

Each scooter has a bell located on the left handle.

It's especially important given how quiet the scooters are.

"The scooter is a lot quieter than even a bicycle. It's quite conceivable that you could come up behind someone at 20 km/h who has a little kid and they won't hear you until you've gone past them."

According to Gardner, some riders have reported seeing scooters without a bell altogether.

In that case, he recommends emailing Bird at 311_okotoks@birdcanada.co

Double riding is another thing Gardner hopes to see some improvement on.

There have also been reports of two people riding a single scooter, something that's against Bird's terms of service and poses a safety risk.

"If everyone out there is enjoying these scooters, follow the rules. There's a much greater chance we'll be able to have them back again in the following years."

Gardner says the town admittedly has some work to do in terms of safety messaging.

The launch of an e-scooter program is often accompanied by a big launch event and other public engagement opportunities, but the pandemic has limited its options.

He's hoping there will be more opportunities for in-person events in the near future, giving people an opportunity to converse with Bird representatives, and hopefully getting everyone on the same page.

 

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