When it meets on Monday, Windsor City Council will discuss a recommendation to bring back its e-scooter program by entering a three-year contract with Bird Canada with the option of extending the agreement beyond that.
Bird Canada was the only company to submit a proposal last month to provide e-scooter and e-bike service in the city.
The company is well known at Windsor City Hall. It provided the vehicles during a pilot project that started in May 2021.
In addition to providing e-scooters and e-bikes, councillors will consider taking the project city-wide. A report suggested banning them only where the city's traffic and park bylaws prohibit them and in the Sandwich South planning district. The proposal is to allow them on most rights of way and all city parks that boast a paved path.
Under the proposed contract, Bird Canada would supply the city with 375 e-scooters and 75 e-bikes, with the option of increasing that to 600 vehicles.
The contract wouldn't cost the city anything. Bird Canada is responsible for supplying the vehicles, their maintenance, marketing the service, and managing it. The company would pay the city an annual licensing fee of $15,000.
The e-scooter sharing program has enjoyed popularity in Windsor. The results of a survey undertaken by Bird Canada last year showed 98 per cent of respondents felt it had a positive impact on the city. More than half wanted the program expanded city-wide.
In 2022, Windsor users clocked more than 300,000 km on e-scooters. The longest ride by a single customer was 67 km.
The only hiccup during the pilot project was a brief shutdown in May 2021 when ten per cent of the scooters went missing. Each one has a GPS device, so they were quickly recovered.