Metro Vancouver Bike & Pedestrian Discussion

[NetMapel]

Rebates make new e-bike purchases more affordable

Beginning June 1, 2023, rebates on the purchase of an approved e-bike will be available to B.C. residents older than 19 and will be based on a person’s income. Rebates will range from $350 to a maximum of $1,400. Unlike previous programs, there is no need to scrap a car to access the rebate. The Province is investing more than $6 million in rebates, which will allow as many as 9,000 people to lower the cost of their e-bike purchase. The rebate program will be administered by the Scrap-It Society.

BC Electric Bike Rebate Program



Let’s gooooooooo Go get your ebike!

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by NetMapel

Let’s gooooooooo Go get your ebike!

Time to "gift" your retired parents/unemployed friend/craigslist personal an e-bike.

[cganuelas1995]

Aren't they also doing something with e-scooters?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

Aren't they also doing something with e-scooters?

Let's hope so - bikes don't work for everybody.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Let's hope so - bikes don't work for everybody.

Also bikes tend to take up quite a bit of space

[logan5]

Yeah that rebate should cover electric scooters as well. I have a Segway Ninebot G30, which a great device, but I would like to upgrade to something with shock absorbers, and turn signals. Using one hand on a scooter to signal is a bit sketchy. Not like a bike. The 350 would be a decent discount on a new scooter. Considering a Segway P100S. 100 km range!

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by logan5

Yeah that rebate should cover electric scooters as well. I have a Segway Ninebot G30, which a great device, but I would like to upgrade to something with shock absorbers, and turn signals. Using one hand on a scooter to signal is a bit sketchy. Not like a bike. The 350 would be a decent discount on a new scooter. Considering a Segway P100S. 100 km range!

Ooh I want one too! All I have is a manual kick scooter, which has been handy for moving tall items but otherwise doesn't get a lot of use (although I should pull it out now that it's warmer outside). But my friend got it from a yard sale for $2 so it paid for itself after I used it once.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by logan5

Yeah that rebate should cover electric scooters as well. I have a Segway Ninebot G30, which a great device, but I would like to upgrade to something with shock absorbers, and turn signals. Using one hand on a scooter to signal is a bit sketchy. Not like a bike. The 350 would be a decent discount on a new scooter. Considering a Segway P100S. 100 km range!

I'm hoping to get the Ninebot Max G2 when it finally shows up in Canada, it seems like a nice upgrade on your model, which I would have gotten if I didn't see the G2.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

Aren't they also doing something with e-scooters?

Are they even technically legal now? The government is so behind on this stuff.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Are they even technically legal now? The government is so behind on this stuff.

Here's the governments stance on it:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/trans...nvironment/active-transportation/scooter

So technically only if you're in:

City of Coquitlam
City of Kelowna
City of North Vancouver
City of Richmond
City of Vancouver
City of Vernon
District of North Vancouver
Town of Oliver

And technically these communities are allowed to implement bylaws but have not:

City of Nanaimo
District of West Vancouver
Township of Langley
Town of Osoyoos

I've directly asked the Mayor of New Westminster about why the city isn't participating and got the regular excuse of "city staff are too overwhelmed to do this", but that he supports them being used and that the police won't ticket you.

Just kind of seems useless to only allow them in select municipalities and the overall regulations are highly restrictive, I have a scooter that's technically illegal under the current laws and other posters here have mentioned models that are also technically illegal as they are able to exceed 24km/h on a flat section of road or have motors over 500W like that Ninebot Max G2 you desire.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by mcj

Here's the governments stance on it:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/trans...nvironment/active-transportation/scooter

So technically only if you're in:

City of Coquitlam
City of Kelowna
City of North Vancouver
City of Richmond
City of Vancouver
City of Vernon
District of North Vancouver
Town of Oliver

And technically these communities are allowed to implement bylaws but have not:

City of Nanaimo
District of West Vancouver
Township of Langley
Town of Osoyoos

That's hilarious and sad. Penticton has a scooter sharing company operating there, but obviously isn't on the list. I used it a few times last summer and it hooked me on the concept, and why I'm shopping/waiting for one now.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by mcj

City of Coquitlam
City of Vancouver

The 11th commandment is of course "thou must walk from Boundary Road to North Road".

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by chowhou

The 11th commandment is of course "thou must walk from Boundary Road to North Road".

Sure, but Burnaby is full of scooters around the Skytrain stations. I wonder if some cities are dragging their feet on formally acknowledging the prevalence of e-scooters because then they'd have to address the infrastructure issues. IMO, scooters are a poor match for mixed traffic given their slower speeds compared to bikes.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

Sure, but Burnaby is full of scooters around the Skytrain stations. I wonder if some cities are dragging their feet on formally acknowledging the prevalence of e-scooters because then they'd have to address the infrastructure issues. IMO, scooters are a poor match for mixed traffic given their slower speeds compared to bikes.

Not sure if you're talking about mixed traffic with cars or mixed traffic between scooters and bikes, but if it's the later, the legal scooters are allowed to do 24 km/h, many models can do double or more than that though. Legal e-bikes are allowed to do 32 km/h (with some models or custom builds capable of higher speeds of course). Not that big a difference, especially considering most conventional bikes are maybe doing 15km/h on average.

It's kind of telling how we strictly regulate these speeds to the nearest single km/h but some UBC student with a brand new N license can purchase a supercar that has no legal limit on its' potential speed...

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by mcj

... It's kind of telling how we strictly regulate these speeds to the nearest single km/h but some UBC student with a brand new N license can purchase a supercar that has no legal limit on its' potential speed...

AFAIK the pushback comes from (wait for it) conventional bikers who don't want them in the bike lanes.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Are they even technically legal now? The government is so behind on this stuff.

Careful what you wish for. As soon as the government gets its act together you'll probably be prohibited from using a scooter without the use of a bicycle helmet and arm, knee and 🞵🞵🞵 guards. And you'll need to buy and display a license...

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

AFAIK the pushback comes from (wait for it) conventional bikers who don't want them in the bike lanes.

As a cyclist, I don't see scooters as being any more threatening than electric bikes. As long as power levels are regulated like they are for e-bikes I'm fine with sharing the lane with them. It's the idiots that cause the problems, not the scooters, and every mode of travel has its share of idiots. Crack down on them, not on the vehicle.

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by mcj

Not sure if you're talking about mixed traffic with cars or mixed traffic between scooters and bikes, but if it's the later, the legal scooters are allowed to do 24 km/h, many models can do double or more than that though. Legal e-bikes are allowed to do 32 km/h (with some models or custom builds capable of higher speeds of course). Not that big a difference, especially considering most conventional bikes are maybe doing 15km/h on average.

It's kind of telling how we strictly regulate these speeds to the nearest single km/h but some UBC student with a brand new N license can purchase a supercar that has no legal limit on its' potential speed...

It's the former. I think most cyclists who are comfortable riding in 100% mixed traffic can do at least 30 kph. Never mind that bikes are better at handling bumps and are more stable than scooters, and are therefore a better match riding in close proximity to cars.

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

AFAIK the pushback comes from (wait for it) conventional bikers who don't want them in the bike lanes.

I want scooters in bike lanes. What drives me nuts is the scooters and bikes who go the wrong way down one-way lanes, or unpredictably jump between sidewalks, streets, and bike lanes with no warning.

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Careful what you wish for. As soon as the government gets its act together you'll probably be prohibited from using a scooter without the use of a bicycle helmet and arm, knee and 🞵🞵🞵 guards. And you'll need to buy and display a license...

This is what I'm saying. In Saskatoon they are doing a pilot project with scooter share, and the scooters automatically cut out when they go onto a sidewalk. This is a problem because Saskatoon has a practically non-existent bike lane network downtown and I'd wager most beginners are not comfortable riding a scooter in front of a pickup truck. If cities are serious about allowing micro mobility solutions, they need to build appropriate infrastructure and Vancouver is the only city that has done this in the entire Lower Mainland.

[idunno]

Agreed with others - I think there's something to be said for the "early adopters" of a new technology. Those folks are taking a risk with something new and not technically legal, so it makes sense why maybe proportionally more of them are scootering in a risky way (to peds/vehicles/bikes/everyone).

The more separated infrastructure we have for bikes/ebikes/scooters, the better for everyone on the streets.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Careful what you wish for. As soon as the government gets its act together you'll probably be prohibited from using a scooter without the use of a bicycle helmet and arm, knee and 🞵🞵🞵 guards. And you'll need to buy and display a license...

If it falls under bicycle enforcement, we'll be fine.

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

As a cyclist, I don't see scooters as being any more threatening than electric bikes. As long as power levels are regulated like they are for e-bikes I'm fine with sharing the lane with them. It's the idiots that cause the problems, not the scooters, and every mode of travel has its share of idiots. Crack down on them, not on the vehicle.

Yep totally. The biggest threat as a pedestrian is ebike/scooter delivery drivers who think riding on the sidewalk is fine. That, and trying to cross busy bike lanes and roads without stop signs or lights. Cyclists just don't yield to you.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by FarmerHaight

This is what I'm saying. In Saskatoon they are doing a pilot project with scooter share, and the scooters automatically cut out when they go onto a sidewalk. This is a problem because Saskatoon has a practically non-existent bike lane network downtown and I'd wager most beginners are not comfortable riding a scooter in front of a pickup truck. If cities are serious about allowing micro mobility solutions, they need to build appropriate infrastructure and Vancouver is the only city that has done this in the entire Lower Mainland.

For Penticton's scooter share there are zones where your speed drops down to 10 km/h or something, maybe less. It's a good compromise IMO.