Halifax city council explores regulating e-scooters

The Halifax regional council is working on establishing rules for the use of electric scooters in the city.

A report presented to HRM council Tuesday recommends the city adopt a bylaw that would ban e-scooters from sidewalks and cap speed limits at 25 kilometres per hour in bike lanes or on roads.

The bylaw would make it illegal to abandon e-scooters in a way that blocks sidewalks, road or bike lanes. Violators would be fined $50.

“We also included impoundment as a possibility so anybody, any HRM staff would be able to impound an e-scooter if it’s left blocking a sidewalk for an example,” Lucas Pitts, HRM’s director of Traffic Management said during his presentation.

“And there would be a $75 fee for the owner of that e-scooter to come pick it up,” Pitts said.

Nova Scotia’s Motor Vehicle Act already restricts e-scooter speeds to 32 kilometres an hour. Riders also have to be 14-years-old or older and wear helmets.

Musician Michael Probert, who performs and people-watches all around Halifax, said he sees few riders following the existing rules.

“They have fun. They don’t really follow regulations but they have fun,” said Probert. “Nobody wears a helmet.”

E-scooter owner Robert Lee wears his helmet. CTV News spotted him riding along a southend street Tuesday.

The senior wears bright clothes, a helmet and said he dresses for his safety. He said that scooter riding can feel unsafe at times on the road, and that’s why he sometimes goes on the sidewalk.

“When I go I don’t go more than four miles an hour. If there’s somebody in front of me, I don’t ring my bell. I get off my scooter and move around them,” Lee said.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind said it has concerns about e-scooters. A major one is how often they're being left to block the sidewalk.

“How do you figure out how to navigate around that if you’re not able to see or if you’re in a wheelchair,” said Shelley Adams, the manager of Community Engagement with CNIB.

Adams also said it’s worrisome how e-scooters are being driven on sidewalks and how quiet they can be when zip up beside a person.

“I think regulations are really important, but regulations are only as good as the enforcement of them so I think that’s the main concern — how are these bylaws going to be enforced,” Adams said.

The HRM report also recommends the city issue a request for proposals to licence companies to provide bike and e-scooter for two years, and hire up to four people to carry out the pilot and enforce the bylaws.

Max Rastelli, owner of HFX e-scooters — one of the operators in Halifax — said there was nothing in the report that surprised him.

“It’s exactly what I expected,” said Rastelli.

His business has been operating a fleet of e-scooters on the Halifax peninsula since 2019.

“In some ways we’ve almost become an unofficial pilot project,” he said.

Rastelli said his company is doing what it can to mitigate the problems.

Staff are out doing regular patrols and the company has introduced stickers and audio messages that play out whenever a scooter is locked or unlocked, telling people not to block the sidewalk.

Steven McArthur’s company Move Scooter rentals has been operating in Halifax since August 2022. He said he knew the regulations were coming.

“We’re trying to work with the city and not against them, of course,” he said.

McArthur said his scooters can only go 25 kilometres an hour, the business is building scooter racks, and soon, helmets will be locked to each rental scooter.

While McArthur knows some riders have left scooters on sidewalks, his business is now using an app that only stops a person's payment for a ride after the user submits a photo of where they parked.

“We’ve made it clear not to park on roadways, sidewalks or anywhere that’s obstructing traffic,” he said.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.