Lime scooters back on Edmonton streets

Scooters will return to Edmonton after the scheme was paused during the winter

Lime will relaunch scooters in Edmonton this week to help residents make short, car-free trips safely while remaining socially-distanced. After pausing service for the winter, Lime says Edmonton will be the first city in Canada to see e-scooters return in 2021, underscoring its importance as one of North America’s leading cities for micromobility. Lime will relaunch 100 e-scooters to start, before ramping up its fleet to meet demand.

According to the micromobility provider, Edmontonians took nearly 500,000 trips with Lime in 2020, highlighting the important role e-scooters played in helping residents make essential trips during the pandemic.

“Lime is thrilled to be back on the streets of Edmonton in 2021 after providing important essential transportation services during the height of the pandemic last year,” said Jonathan Hopkins, Government Relations Director for Lime.

“This year will be all about revival, helping Edmonton businesses recover, encouraging residents to get outside and see friends once vaccinated and helping visitors return to the city at long-last.”

It’s hoped e-scooters will help Edmonton get moving again as it aims to recover from COVID-19, allowing residents and visitors to safely visit nearby shops and restaurants. A recent study from Emory University in the US found e-scooters to be a valuable contributor to local businesses. Over six months across four cities, the study says every scooter on the streets led to $921 new revenue for restaurants.

While guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) holds that “the primary mode of transmission for COVID-19 is through close contact from person-to-person,” and that surface transmission is “not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” Lime says it has enhanced its cleaning methods and increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting its scooters.

Lime cleans all parts of every scooter that are touched by people and only uses products recommended by the US CDC on the Center for Biocide Chemistries list that have been approved by the EPA for use against the coronavirus.