Halifax launching shared e-bike, scooter pilot

Haley Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Anyone visiting oregon surviving successful Halifax volition beryllium capable to drawback an electrical bicycle oregon scooter this outpouring arsenic portion of the city's archetypal regulated micromobility aviator — featuring caller exertion to forestall users from riding connected the sidewalk.

The Halifax Regional Municipality chose Bird Canada arsenic the sole supplier of the two-year aviator successful February, and a metropolis spokesperson said the programme aims to motorboat successful May.

Bird volition commencement with 300 e-scooters and 300 e-bikes successful the archetypal phase, but that could turn to an full fleet of astir 1,000 of the lightweight vehicles depending connected demand.

Pat Graham, wide manager of Bird Canada, said users volition lone beryllium capable to parkland oregon prime up the scooters and bikes at designated stations.

Graham said they tin besides acceptable dilatory zones wherever scooters are acceptable to a little velocity bounds than usual, oregon no-ride areas wherever the instrumentality volition safely travel to a stop.

"We tin spot erstwhile radical thrust connected the sidewalk. So one, they should beryllium brought to a stop, but 2 … we volition nonstop a warning," Graham said Friday.

"It'll beryllium a small spot antithetic than I deliberation successful the past, wherever you could extremity your thrust benignant of wherever you'd like."

Each motorcycle oregon scooter volition person an attached helmet, but Graham said Bird volition besides connection helmet giveaways truthful radical tin person their own.

Scooters are presently treated similar bicycles nether the Motor Vehicle Act and indispensable question successful motorcycle lanes, astir multi-use paths or the roadway. Riding connected sidewalks is already illegal but has been hard to enforce. 

With the Bird system, riders are continually charged if they wantonness the scooter extracurricular a designated station, which tin go "quite expensive," Graham said. After an archetypal informing outlining immoderate improper behaviour, helium said a 2nd incidental leads to a fine, and a 3rd onslaught gets a idiosyncratic banned from the service.

Their Bird app volition besides see a sobriety trial diagnostic that tin beryllium turned connected astatine night, often astir 10 oregon 11 p.m., which includes puzzles and a roadworthy information quiz riders person to pass.

"Obviously drinking and riding is heavy discouraged from our position and we don't privation anyone doing that," Graham said.

The bikes and scooters volition beryllium acceptable up adjacent autobus stops, autobus terminals and ferry terminals truthful radical tin harvester a travel with transit. Graham said they are present readying retired precisely wherever the parking stations volition be.

"We're filling successful proscription gaps, whether it's from an under-served assemblage based connected routes, oregon conscionable timing," Graham said.

The work volition commencement successful the municipality halfway of Halifax and Dartmouth, and volition yet dispersed passim suburban and agrarian areas of the region.

But the city's existing companies present can't connection shared scooters connected metropolis roads.

Max Rastelli, proprietor of HFX e-Scooters, said his ain bid acceptable each the method criteria for the aviator tender and was shortlisted. Rastelli said helium hoped Halifax would prime 2 operators, which was a anticipation successful the tender, but helium was yet not chosen.

In the future, Rastelli said he'd similar Halifax to enactment much accent connected supporting smaller section businesses successful the procurement process.

Now helium volition lone connection scooters connected the Halifax waterfront, which is not metropolis property.

"That's what's going to importantly alteration our business, and it volition interaction revenues large time," Rastelli said.

He is present exploring expanding shared scooter services to Sydney and different municipalities astir the province.

CBC reached retired to MoVe Scooters, different existent section operator, but did not person a response.

When asked astir Bird's absorption to displacing existing operators, Graham said the determination lies with Halifax and they are "incredibly grateful" to beryllium selected. 

But Graham said they volition beryllium needing experienced unit for the Halifax pilot, and are "actively" reaching retired to different operators to spot if they would articulation the Bird team.

Halifax archetypal metropolis successful Atlantic region to usage Bird

Pricing is inactive being finalized, but Graham said the modular complaint is $1 to unlock a motorcycle oregon scooter and past $0.35 per infinitesimal for a ride. They volition besides connection discounted day, week oregon monthly passes for commuters who expect to thrust aggregate times a day, similar $10 for 60 minutes of riding.

A monthly Bird walk would beryllium likewise priced to a monthly Halifax Transit pass, Graham said.

"Not everyone tin spend their ain e-bike. They're beauteous expensive," Graham said.

"So to person the quality to usage this signifier of proscription successful a much equitable mode for … lower-income groups is incredibly important to let them to entree their metropolis successful the aforesaid mode that others person the accidental to already."

Bird is acceptable up successful astir 30 municipalities crossed the country, including Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. Halifax is its archetypal determination successful Atlantic Canada.