Three years ago, the mayor of Montreal decided to put an end to self-service scooters in the streets of the economic capital of Quebec. If their presence does not seem to be missed by the inhabitants because of the flash passage and their low attractiveness, the official opposition of the town hall asks for a new deployment, without repeating the mistakes of the past.
From our correspondent in Montreal,
While the city of Paris is about to ask the Parisians if they want to keep self-service scooters, Montreal has already taken the decision to ban them, three years ago. A ban justified by the chaotic operation of the service during an experiment in the streets of the city.
Yet, to listen to the vast majority of Montrealers on the streets, there have never been self-service scooters in their city. It must be said that the experimentation was rapid, and stopped just before the coronavirus crisis, which marked the spirits a little more.
A radical ban
For nine months, from June 2019 to February 2020, Montrealers were able to discover self-service electric scooters, as part of one of the few pilot projects in Quebec.
Quickly, the incivilities multiply and the operator lets himself be overwhelmed. “ I have friends who did anything, who let them hang around even drove them on the sidewalks, in the streets “says Mathilde, 21, before adding” it’s a shame that people didn’t know how to behave, because I find the concept really great ! According to the city, only 20% of the scooters used during this period were parked in the correct locations.
For the town hall, it was absurd to mobilize public law enforcement resources to ensure the profits of a private company, especially since the service was not as attractive as hoped. ” Montreal does not want to turn into scooter police “, summed up Éric Alan Caldwell, responsible for mobility within the municipality. Three years later, the position of the town hall has not changed. ” We have no intention of repeating the experiment. We rent it this summer in a large park near Montreal, but users will be prohibited from going beyond the limits of the site. “Slices Philippe Sabourin, the administrative spokesperson for the city of Montreal.
► To read also: Electric scooters: these big cities at war against “anarchy” [article de 2018]
Social issue
Unlike Paris, Montreal therefore quickly fell back on scooters. But it is not just behaviors that explain the abandonment of deployment: users have also been less present. Thomas is French, he has lived in both cities, and has a few leads to explain the lack of enthusiasm of Montrealers. ” It was a failure, the scooters were mainly concentrated in the business center, while Montreal is much larger than Paris “, he testifies. Indeed, studies on the subject find that self-service scooters remain the prerogative of the rather well-to-do classes of the population, due to a rather high rental price. As the town hall aims for sustainable development accessible to all, this argument has also been used against experimentation.
Another issue is the quality of the roads. The law purely and simply prohibiting electric scooters from circulating on cycle paths, it was therefore necessary to circulate on the road, where potholes are much more numerous. Mathieu, 25, is a skateboarder, he rides a bike, likes to walk, but he would never see himself riding a scooter in Montreal. ” When we are on a bicycle, the balance of our body is rather balanced, despite the holes, the ribs. On a scooter, we feel far too vulnerable “says the young rider.
Legal uncertainty?
The electric scooter nevertheless retains an advantage for its defenders, here as elsewhere: it would be more ecological. If this assertion is difficult to dispute if a car user abandons it to switch to a scooter, the ecological nature of the large-scale deployment of motorized vehicles, often tossed in the water or damaged, leaves many Montrealers skeptical.
Some, however, try to promote this micromobility. Guillaume launched his store selling individual electric vehicles in 2018, and has just opened a store in the heart of Montreal, despite the global ban. Indeed, an individual can always ride a scooter in Montreal… provided they are at home or in a parking lot. “ Through experimentation, we have seen an increase in sales […]. The rules are vague, some cities and police are more flexible and tolerate scooters as long as the user respects the rules of the highway code », declares the manager, very optimistic.
For the official opposition at the town hall, these vehicles should be authorized to deal with climate change. Ensemble Montreal would like BIXI, the equivalent of Vélib’ in Montreal, to launch its own service to prevent the chaos of experimentation from starting again. It is up to BIXI to prove that it will be able to manage self-service scooters, and that it is not the very principle of this ultra-individual mode of transport that is problematic.
► Also to listen: Report – In France, electric scooters are increasingly popular