The first electric scooters hit the road in Kelowna on Friday, and the owners are hoping it plays a role in leading a transportation revolution.
OGO Scooters, which is based in Kelowna, will become the first of three e-scooter companies to hit the market when it introduces 60 vehicles to the community on Saturday. It gave the public a chance to test them out for free on Friday near the Kelowna Visitor Centre.
“What we’re always talking about is micro-mobility, to change the way people move in our cities,” OGO Scooters owner Chris Szydlowski said at the launch. “And the e-scooter has really materialized to the forefront of the conversation to be the vehicle that can help drive that change, reduce congestion and all that.
“Kelowna is just the most forward thinking city in Canada, really, to have this program in place.”
OGO, which is a division of Canada West Segway, is the first e-scooter company to operate in a Canadian city under a permit system. Szydlowski said a similar business is operational in Halifax, but there are no permits involved.
OGO will have between six and 10 full-time employees, most of whom will track down the scooters after use, re-charge the batteries and clean the helmets. The scooters will be allowed to travel on bike lanes and on the Okanagan Rail Trail, and geo-fencing will prevent them from being driven outside the established corridor.
The area in which the scooters can travel around Kelowna is not a big one, and Szydlowski is hoping government sees the need to expand it as quickly as possible.
“The electric mobility solutions are there to reduce our congestion, but our traffic laws are set a long time ago and they’re not adapting quick enough to the technology that’s advancing,” Szydlowski said. “It’s well timed that we’ll see the provincial level start to take more recognition of the initiatives that are being taken in Kelowna, and hopefully you’ll see that drive the change.
“We need to have less cars, more people on electric personal mobility devices, less pollution, less congestion, friendlier. Like, you’re riding around smiling on these scooters, so it really gives off a goodwill feeling in the community.”
The scooters top out at about 15 kilometres per hour. Users, who must first download the OGO Scooters app, will pay one dollar to get it started and then 30 cents per minute. The scooters can travel up to 45 kilometres on a single charge. Helmets will be provided with each scooter, but they are not mandatory. You must be at least 19 years old to drive an OGO scooter, but that will work on the honour system until identification technology the company is working on is operational.
OGO is asking users to return the scooters to where they picked them up—most locations will be along the lakefront downtown—although that is not necessary either, as the company has the ability to geo-track them. A rewards program is being established for those who return the scooters to their pick-up locations.
Two other e-scooter companies, Spin Co. and Zip, are expected to begin operations soon.
All Biz Releases Stories
