With the first summer of Airdrie’s e-scooter pilot program in the rear-view mirror, the Bird and Neuron e-scooters will be going into hibernation on November 1. 

Chris MacIsaac, Team Leader for the city's transit, mentioned they had seen a lot of success with the pilot program. Still, with the snow starting to fall, it's time for e-scooter users to find a different mode of transportation around Airdrie. 

“The e-scooters will be going into hibernation. Our last day of the program is scheduled for October 31 and come November, the scooters will be disappearing from our sidewalks and streets until the spring months.” 

If you have your own e-scooters, you are free to use them whenever you like. With the first summer of e-scooters left in the dust, the city of Airdrie has heard lots of feedback from residents regarding some concerns. One of the concerns that were voiced among residents regarded how e-scooters were being handled. 

“In regards to parking, particularly when riders were leaving the e-scooters parked across a sidewalk or a pathway, which would really make it challenging for residents to safely navigate around parked e-scooters. We worked with our service providers to ensure they were educating the riders on the proper parking techniques.” 

Another concern the city saw was riders being respectful and considerate. MacIsaac reminded e-scooter users that when you're riding an e-scooter, technically, you're yielding to those that are already there as a pedestrian. 

Up next for the city and the e-scooters, they will work closely with the providers (Bird and Neuron) to obtain feedback, and then take it to council for Airdrie’s city council to make any changes to the pilot program if needed. 

Although the return is weather-dependent, MacIsaac predicts we will see the return of the e-scooters sometime in April. 

Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com