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E-scooters remain stalled in Toronto

Electric scooter services will remain parked for now.

Thestar.com
July 29, 2020

Toronto city council on Tuesday never voted on a city staff proposal that would have laid the groudwork for e-scooter rental services to start operating in Toronto for a trial period starting next spring.

That proposal, which would have seen council decide this fall whether to green-light the controversial pilot project, was rendered moot when a competing motion from Coun. Paula Fletcher passed 12-11.

City staff will now look solely at concerns the short-term rental of e-scooters by companies such as Bird Canada pose to the safety of disabled Torontonians, as well as issues around insurance liability for riders and anyone they might hit.

Council won’t get those answers before fall, almost certainly meaning further delay in a possible start date for the scooter services that have aggressively lobbied city officials, originally in hopes of having riders whizzing around Toronto last spring.

Electric scooters, which riders unlock with an app and pay per ride or per kilometre, have become a common sight on city streets around the world.

But the services have been kicked out of some cities over concerns they pose a hazard when left in people’s path and that inexperienced riders risk serious injury.

David Lepofsky, chair of disability advocacy group AODA Alliance, expressed relief his members won’t have to worry about the devices any time soon.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic raging, city council should stop considering allowing e-scooters, and instead focus all its attention on the community’s urgent needs during the COVID-19 crisis,” he said in an interview after the vote.

While some councillors wanted to let city staff set the stage for e-scooters, saying Torontonians should have access to the “micro-mobility” option rolling around cities including Ottawa and Calgary, other councillors sought to kill the initiative.

Other council decisions included:

The move, unanimously endorsed by council, will see 8.5 kilometres of bus lanes carved out of existing infrastructure along Eglinton Ave. E., Kingston Rd., and Morningside Ave., from Brimley Rd. to the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.

Existing High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on Eglinton Ave. E. will be converted to priority bus lanes as will curb side general-purpose lanes on Kingston Rd. and Morningside Ave.

The move is part of the RapidTO plan to move transit more quickly through five of the busiest corridors in the city.

The lanes will be reserved for buses and bicycles at all times. The one-time cost of the installation is estimated at $7.8 million, but cost savings are also anticipated. According to the city, the resulting decrease in travel time of two to five minutes will save $2.5 million in annual operating costs and result in a one-time capital cost savings of about $6.3 million, as fewer buses will be required to provide the same level of service.

While some councillors questioned the details, all voted in favour of the motion, which was backed by Mayor John Tory.

“We need to get people where they’re going faster,” said Coun. Jennifer McKelvie (Ward 25 Scarborough-Rouge Park.)

More bus lanes are scheduled to be installed in 2021.

The Eglinton East corridor where priority bus lanes will be installed serves seven of Scarborough’s eight Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and improving transit service there is part of the city’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.

City staff had strongly recommend council grant authorization for them to negotiate a deal with PayIt to provide Torontonians with an easy online way to pay property taxes, parking tickets and more.

The normal competition process is unnecessary, council was told, because PayIt, which has contracts with some state and municipal governments in the U.S., would had unique benefits including no charge for equipment or licensing.

Instead, the company would get revenue from service fees -- for example 2.35 per cent of any bill paid by credit card -- on some payment methods. Torontonians would always have the option of at least one fee-free payment option.

Some members of Toronto’s technology community had complained the proposal shut them out. Coun. Shelley Carroll made a successful motion to send the proposal back to city staff for more study, saying potential cost savings for the city don’t justify rushing into a sole-sourced contract.

Torontonians “don't want us laying city employees that cost us a few million dollars to then start handing commissions to a U.S. company that will be tens of millions of dollars beyond that,” she said.

Mayor John Tory, who supported the contract last week at executive committee, said councillors raised enough questions that he agreed more study is required.