An electric kick scooter being used in the Sixth Avenue bike lane in downtown Kamloops. (Image Credit: Victor Kaisar)

By Victor Kaisar

Kamloops Poised to Join E-Scooter Pilot

Council to weigh in on potential introduction of rentable e-scooters in Kamloops

Dec 7, 2024 | 2:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops City staff are asking Council for approval to join the provincial electric kick scooter pilot project, which would open up another mode of transportation for residents and visitors.

Transportation Engineer Nii Noi Akuetteh says if approved at Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) meeting, Kamloops hopes to join the pilot in two phases. The first will essentially legalize the use of these vehicles in Kamloops, meaning people will be able to ride their e-scooters in bike lanes and on city streets with speed limits of 50 km/hr or less.

The second phase of the expansion in Kamloops will see City staff pursue an agreement with a rental company like Bird or Lime as seen in other pilot communities like Vernon and Kelowna.

“We’ve not been in direct contact with any of the companies just because we want to keep the procurement process fair,” Akuetteh said, noting staff have working on what the pilot could like in Kamloops for the better part of this year.

“We’re looking to get one of the big players just because they have an understanding of markets. They have extensive data. They have extensive technology in their e-scooters.”

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A report to Council said the Province is encouraging communities to join the pilot which is set to wrap up in April 2028 so it can “assess the benefits and effects of people using electric kick scooters in detail and evaluate how this popular mode of personal transportation can be safely integrated into local transportation networks.”

A number of different organizations including Tourism Kamloops, both Business Improvement Associations, and Interior Health have written letters to City Council to voice their support for the expansion.

Climate and Sustainability Manager Glen Cheetham told the Livability and Sustainability Select Committee in September that while there will be some challenges, the City will have a lot of say into how a shared e-scooter service looks like in Kamloops.

“One of the greatest benefits of that program is the provider working with the local government can really establish a lot of parameters through geo-fencing,” Cheetham said. “So basically, these are GPS enabled devices, so if we decided we only want to see these being used in a specific area, they can be geo-fenced.”

“Likewise, if you want to throttle them back and make them go slower in certain parts, that can be done.”

All e-scooter users have to follow a number of rules and regulations while on the road in pilot communities. Those communities may also set additional rules, according to the Province.

Rollout of rentable e-scooters will be slow

Akuetteh told CFJC Today that city staff will continue to do their due diligence over the next few months as it works on a partnership with a rental company, assuming councillors rubber stamp the plans next week.

“We have to see how this fits into our community,” he said. “We talk about the hills and we talk about the different types of roads, and we would have to determine where we want to deploy these e-scooters in the beginning.”

Akuetteh says if Kamloops joins the provincial pilot, the hope is to have rentable e-scooters on City streets by the summer of 2025.

“We’ll start small just because we’ll be able to monitor the usage and the safety issues and correct it quickly before expanding,” Akuetteh added.

“We’re still working through things but we’ll be considering densified areas first before we think of expanding to other areas of Kamloops, if we even do that.”