Toronto pumps brakes on bid to legalize e-scooters, new report expected in 2024

The future of e-scooters in Toronto won't be decided until early next year after city councillors opted to pump the brakes on the latest bid to study legalizing the vehicles.

Councillors recently voted to roll a request for a pilot program into work already ongoing by city staff. Staff are studying how different light-weight vehicle types including cargo bikes/trikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters could be used on city streets to reduce emissions and improve safety on Toronto's roads.

Staff want to have the strategy in place ahead of any pilot projects to "help the city reap the greatest benefits", including supporting connections to transit, a report to councillors said.

Coun. Dianne Saxe spearheaded the most recent push to potentially regulate the vehicles, which are currently illegal, but widely in use around Toronto. She had hoped the city would begin to study their use — and that may still happen as part of the report, she said.

"I am certainly hoping that we will see staff support for some kind of pilot project," she said. "There are so many fears about it. We're not going to learn unless we try."

Toronto can't 'sit back' on e-scooter use: Saxe

Council has asked staff to consult broadly as they develop the report.

The latest bid to legalize e-scooters comes two years after council decided to ban the small motorized vehicles on city streets, citing safety concerns. But since that debate, Saxe says use of the scooters has only grown. Toronto needs to grapple with their use now or risks being left behind as people continue to use them anyway, she said.

"My concern is that we are much more likely to have a 'wild sest' if we do nothing and just sit back," she said.

Coun. Stephen Holyday supports the request for further study and said the city can no longer afford to ignore the growing use of e-scooters. Council passed a motion from Holyday last week asking city staff to ensure that wearing a helmet while using an e-scooter would be a mandatory part of any pilot. 

"These objects are out for sale in many of the stores and retailers all around the province, so it's important not to ignore them, whether you support them on the roads or not," Holyday said. "There have to be some rules around it to make sure that there's order on our streets and that people are safe."

Coun. Chris Moise, who represents Ward 13 Toronto Centre, said many who use e-scooters can't afford a car or to take transit. The study should recognize that and take it into account, he said.

"E-scooters and micro-mobility devices are here to stay. I mean, they're all over the downtown," Moise said. "So they're not going away anytime soon, the best thing that we can do is to regulate them."

Accessibility advocates urge city to enforce the law

Coun. Mike Colle urged councillors to listen to advocates for the disabled and elderly who are asking them to not legalize the vehicles. Some worry the scooters, which can travel as fast as 24 km/h, are a danger to people who can't see or hear them, he said.

"These are the real consequences of these devices, because you don't know they're coming," he said. "And the tendency is for people to speed on them. And the tendency is for them to be used sidewalks."

David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, said the city has already "thoroughly debated and thoroughly studied" e-scooters. It shouldn't pursue further regulation, he said.

"With a massive deficit that the city council has not gotten under control and lots of other priorities for city staff, we think that it is a waste of public time and resources to study e-scooters any more," he said.

Lepofsky, who is blind, said the scooters still represent a safety hazard, not just for people with disabilities but all Torontonians. The city and Toronto police should ramp up efforts to get illegal scooters off the streets and sidewalks, he said.

"We are now being endangered because they're illegal, because they're being sold and ridden in public with impunity. And law enforcement and city council are simply sitting on their hands," he said. "We say that's got to change." 

Austin Spademan, a spokesperson for e-scooter company Bird Canada, said the firm is hopeful city staff will recommend a pilot in the new year. Twenty cities in Canada have e-scooter programs and Toronto could learn from their experience, he said.

"What we're actually hoping for is to work with Toronto's accessibility community," he said. 

Spademan said technology can be used to limit scooter speeds and keep them off sidewalks. E-scooters can help the city cut congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and increase traffic in bike lanes, if permitted, he said.

"We want to collaborate, we want to make sure everybody's voice is heard," he said. "And we want the program to be a success."