MTO’s Electric Kick Scooter Safety Evaluation
Jamie riding an e-scooter (Hamilton, ON)
Earlier this year, Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) released an e-scooter safety evaluation report. The reports generates a list of target data sources for assessing e-scooter safety that are based on a review of relevant literature, consultation with public and private sector stakeholders, and an analysis of available data from municipal and health partners. The report is intended to serve as a proof of concept for converting common data sources into meaningful insights.
A few findings of interest include:
E-scooter incidents are not commonly collected through e-scooter pilot programs and remain an administrative challenge for local authorities to track.
Participating cities observed a decrease in the total number of reported issues and enquiries from the public in subsequent years of their programs.
Results from multiple surveys show a preference among participants for riding in active transportation facilities such as multi-use pathways and cycle tracks.
Efforts in Ottawa to address e-scooter parking concerns by reducing fleet size, geofencing sidewalks, and implementing stricter parking rules were successful in addressing the concerns of the Accessibility Advisory Committee, which rescinded a previous motion to cancel the e-scooter program.
One important conclusion from the report is that there is a growing need for national and international guidelines to standardize data collection practices for micromobility devices.
Stuckless Consulting Inc., in partnership with WSP Canada, supported the consultation, data collection and analysis for this project.
The full report is available for download from the MTO Library.