Kick, push, coast. Thatsa国际传媒檚 what Kelownians will be doing shortly now that the City of Kelowna has penned a deal with United States-based e-scooter company Spin.
In the San Francisco companysa国际传媒檚 international debut, a fleet of 400 electric scooters will be delivered to Kelowna sa国际传媒渓ikely soon,sa国际传媒� active transportation coordinator Matt Worona said.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e really excited about this,sa国际传媒� Worona said on being Canadasa国际传媒檚 first city to welcome Spinsa国际传媒檚 e-scooter share program.
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Alternative transportation with an electric component has been more attractive to audiences than the typical pedal-powered bicycle share programs, Worona said.
sa国际传媒淔rom last year to this year, the industry has moved quite a bit faster to the electric kick scooters and away from general bikes,sa国际传媒� he said.
The city continues to look for more opportunities with other alternative transportation share programs to create a competitive market.
Worona, alongside city staff and councillors, have to be met before issuing permits with companies to ensure a fair playing field.
sa国际传媒淚t wonsa国际传媒檛 be a Wild West,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭here will be multiple players abiding by the same rules.sa国际传媒�
Currently, the City of Kelowna is talking with the Ministry of Transportation to change regulations to allow this type of vehicle on roadways. As it stands, Worona said, the e-scooters can only be used on multi-use paths such as the Rail Trail.
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He said the ministry is looking to change this as soon as Monday.
sa国际传媒淲e want to be a place where people test things,sa国际传媒� Worona said. sa国际传媒淲e want to be a place where innovation happens. This is a really, really big deal for Kelowna.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淭he fact that wesa国际传媒檙e open to this kind of thing helps shape the idea of what kind of city this is.sa国际传媒�
Worona said the people of Kelowna can expect more permits with similar companies to be issued next week.
Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com
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