Quebec cracks down on scooters
Quebec startled a lot of people this week when it suddenly banned scooters and mopeds that don’t meet federal safety standards. Regular reader Nicholas sent me an excerpt from the Quebec official Gazette that lays down the law.
Meezly 18:03 on 2024-08-02 Permalink
I was wondering when/if this topic was going to be posted. This has been a long time coming, but I’m torn. I’m happy to finally see uncertified scooters and mopeds banned from bike paths, but there should be a way for them to coexist with regular vehicles on urban roads since they can reach speeds up to 70km/h.
Blork 18:30 on 2024-08-02 Permalink
Yeah it seems weird to ban them outright. Also, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation around this. For example, one idiot in a FB group I follow immediately started a change.org petition based on the idea that CANADA HAS BANNED ALL EBIKES! FFS, if you want to lose your will to live, just follow some of those conversations.
If you ask me (and I know you’re asking me) it’s a matter of creating guidelines and standards for those vehicles, and licensing them the way we license gas-powered motorcycles and mopeds/scooters.
And of course this shouldn’t apply to low-powered pedal-assist e-bikes.
What’s not clear to me is how does this affect things like those electric unicycles and motorized skateboards and whatnot.
Blork 18:33 on 2024-08-02 Permalink
This will also be hard on those poor saps who do delivery gig work, like for Uber Eats. Electric scooters are the go-to vehicles for those jobs.
Ian 22:26 on 2024-08-02 Permalink
Similar thing happened in NY almost a decade ago. I waa waiting for that shoe to drop.
ottawaowl 11:02 on 2024-08-03 Permalink
Safely sharing the Ottawa-Gatineau NCC-CCN paths: speed limit of 20 km/h + rules for electric power-assisted vehicles https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/share-the-path
Permitted: Electric power-assisted bicycles (“e-bikes”), with operable pedals, that resemble conventional bicycles * Electric power-assisted cargo bicycles (“cargo e-bikes”), with operable pedals, for personal use * Motorized mobility aids, including but not limited to powered wheelchairs and scooters with three to five wheels
Prohibited: Electric power-assisted cargo bicycles for commercial use * Electric kick-style scooters * All devices that are exclusively powered by a throttle * All other electric-powered vehicles that are not specified above
Nicholas 15:27 on 2024-08-03 Permalink
I encourage everyone to read the regulation, specifically article 1, which is very short and most of what matters. As you can see, twice it mentions appearance similar to mopeds (similar in French), so they really don’t know how to specifically define the different things, and this was likely a last minute “We have to do something, and quickly” thing. The regulation expires in 6 months, and you can read between the lines in the La Presse article that something more permanent will happen. I’m guessing we’ll get the Class 1/2/3 e-bike system, plus a separate one for things that are clearly mopeds, and that the stakeholders will get together with the governments and come up with a solution (licence? plates? lanes/paths vs streets? helmets?).
I agree these vehicles should be allowed in some way, especially as they’re key for food delivery. This was clearly coming to a head, and reminds me of Amsterdam, where there was a much bigger problem than the other Dutch cities, and eventually the national government made an exception for the city to allow them to ban the smaller mopeds on bike paths. I hope we can find a way to safely allow all these micro mobility options in a way that keeps people safe (and safer than cars).
Blork, the regulations specify that this applies only to two- and three-wheeled vehicles, among other things, so skateboards and unicycles aren’t affected, nor are foot scooters (for other reasons).
Ian 17:29 on 2024-08-03 Permalink
I think the cargo bike for commercial use part is what will affect the Ubereats guys most. I ownder if the cops will bother to enforce it.
Andrew 20:33 on 2024-08-03 Permalink
The thing I love about my e-bike is how easy it is to replace a lot of driving. When it’s too hot, too cold, or I’m just too lazy, I can still commute in a similar amount of time on few cents of electricity. People want to constrain personal electric vehicles to fit our existing rules and infrastructure, but we might miss out on a really easy way to drastically reduce car usage.
Ian 08:48 on 2024-08-04 Permalink
If your commute is that short you could just take public transit, no?
Andrew 18:33 on 2024-08-04 Permalink
20 minutes by car, 25 by ebike, 35 to 40 by bike and at least 45 by transit to go 10 km. To be fair the lachine canal path is the most direct route for me, but biking in your work clothes and not needing a shower also saves a few minutes every day.