Montreal welcomed fleets of electric transit options from Uber-owned electric bikes called JUMP, Google-owned Lime eScooters and Bixi's electric bikes.

City Councillor Craig Sauve is working to avoid having eScooters left wherever people feel like it, and ride them with reckless abandon.

"We knew that we had to have a plan so we looked at some of the best practices around the world for these eScooters, and we made a bylaw that was rather strict," he said. "Using this bylaw we were able to really negotiate with the companies and get them to work."

Sauve said the city remains in constant contact with the companies to ensure users are respecting the rules of the road.

People can be fined directly by the companies if they do not park the scooters in the right spot, for example, and those riding them without a helmet can also be fined $60 to $100.

Electric scooters and bikes are only set to become more and more popular, and Sauve said investing in public transit and other options is the goal to alleviate traffic frustration.

"About every year, there's an average of 40,000 net more cars on the roads," he said. "The roads are getting more crowded. Parking is getting more crowded, and the only way to fight that is to offer other options that are interesting."

With a younger generation swapping car keys for OPUS passes, Sauve said it's about finding balance between car drivers in the suburbs and those in the city.

"It's a question of space and densification and the future," he added. "We know that younger generations now, they're not buying cars. They're getting into bikes. They're getting into the metro. They want to live in the city."

Sauve said transportation is the number-one greenhouse gas emitter in Quebec, and he feels it's a city's responsibility to invest in places that can reduce emissions and provide options that make it easier for citizens to choose environmentally-friendly options.

"If we really want to make an effort for the environment, it has to be in transport," he said. "We're trying to change the system so it becomes easier for Montrealers to make that choice."