Montreal city council is looking to tighten up the regulations for the recently rolled out electric scooters that have become ubiquitous on the city’s streets.
The Lime scooters were made available as part of a pilot project in three of the city’s boroughs but in just a few short weeks the sight illegally parked scooters has become common.
City officials said they are preparing to propose updates to the bylaw regulating the e-scooters and bicycles that will make the rules more strict. Among the proposed solutions are updating the penalty system: if a scooter or bike is found outside a designated parking area, the company that operates the vehicle will be immediately fined $100. If the user is caught, they’ll be fined $50 on the spot.
The city will also crack down on riders who are found using the scooters without a helmet.
“Our whole system is based on the responsibility of the operator,” said Eric Alan Caldwell, the member of Montreal’s executive committee responsible for mobility. “We don’t want to be in the business of controlling electric scooters. If an operator deploys a fleet in Montreal, they have to be responsible for that fleet.”
Opposition party Ensemble Montreal criticized the city’s administration, saying not enough was done to educate the population about how scooter system would work.
