Isn’t it a requirement for a major metropolis to have piles of two wheelers on the main shopping streets?

By Gary S. Vasilash

One of the characteristics of major cities is, in addition to pigeons, e-scooters.

Both are seemingly everywhere. One has a use case that isn’t associated with pecking at breadcrumbs.

So it is somewhat interesting to note that the City of Toronto is opting out of a e-scooter pilot program that is running in the province of Ontario and was established in January 2020.

According to a story by CTV News Toronto, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance (AODA) had spoken out against scooters, maintaining they presented safety hazards, “especially for people living with disabilities and seniors, when encountering them illegally operating on sidewalks.”

Which leads one to question whether it is the means of transportation or the fact that they are sometimes being operated in an unsafe and possibly illegal manner.

Two e-scooter operators, Lime and Bird, engaged a research firm, Nanos, to check into how Torontonians feel about e-scooters. The survey was conducted between April 14 and 16.

The results show that overall, when asked “Do you support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or oppose Toronto creating a shared micro mobility pilot with shared e-scooters this year in Toronto,” 35% support, 35% somewhat support, 9% oppose, 9% somewhat oppose, and 12% are unsure.

Even if the 12% goes to the naysayers, that combined number is 30%, which is less than either of the supportive groups alone.

No word on the pigeons’ position.