Fans say they’re an affordable, environmentally-friendly part of transportation in a modern city. Critics have accused them of “terrorizing” San Francisco, and mocked them mercilessly on Instagram. They still often operate against the law. But get ready, Toronto! Rental battery-powered e-scooters could soon be swarming city streets and sidewalks.California-based e-scooter rental company Bird confirmed Thursday that it’s expanding operations into Canada.Backed by financing from Toronto Raptors founder John Bitove, the initial launch for Bird Canada will be in Calgary and Edmonton.A top executive says the company is aiming to come to Canada’s biggest city as soon as possible.“We’d love to be in Toronto tomorrow. Talk to your city councillors!” said Bird Canada CEO Stewart Lyons in an interview with the Star. “If we could get something by the end of summer, that would be great.”Riders in the 100-plus cities where Bird operates use an app to locate and unlock the nearest available e-scooter, then pay $1.15 to start, plus 35 cents per minute.The scooters can reach a top speed of 25 km/h, making them popular with urbanites who want something more convenient than a bike, but don’t need a taxi or an Uber.The problem is fitting them into already chaotic urban environments. Under Bird’s “dockless” rental model, users can park the scooters wherever they want, so they tend to clutter up sidewalks.There’s also the issue of where they can be used: Dodging around parked cars on the roads? Or whizzing past pedestrians on sidewalks?Right now in Ontario, e-scooters are ineligible for use on roads under the provincial Highway Traffic Act — although that may change. In Toronto, use on city sidewalks isn’t currently permitted, but that is also under review. The only place where riders can use them is on private property, if the property owners give the go-ahead.Lyons, a veteran Cana ...
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