Neuron Mobility's e-scooters and e-bikes at the April 8, 2022 launch event. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Company “extremely pleased” with use of e-scooters in Lethbridge

Apr 26, 2022 | 11:06 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Neuron Mobility says interest in their e-scooters and e-bikes has been as good as they could have hoped for so far.

They launched the service in Lethbridge on April 8, 2022, and expanded the availability of the e-bikes two weeks later.

As of Friday, April 22, Ankush Karwal, Regional Manager and Head of Markets at Neuron Canada, says approximately 6,500 rides have been taken, totalling around 13,000 kilometres of travel.

“We’ve been thrilled by the response from the community so far… We also know that the downtown businesses in particular have been extremely excited about the service [when it] rolled out. Over the first weekend when we went ahead and deployed our first phase, you could see e-scooters out on the streets everywhere people took to them. It’s been pretty good the last couple of weeks.”

Due to the service still being so new, Karwal was hesitant to say how usage in Lethbridge so far compares to the other communities in which they operate.

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He was, however, happy with the feedback they have been receiving from users.

“They’ve started using this for your daily commute. They’ve started using this to go out and meet friends [and] have a cup of coffee so it’s been good so far. It’s not that people are just trying it and then moving back to their traditional modes of transport. This is essentially something that people have adopted on its own.”

In their first phase of operations, the e-scooters and e-bikes are only available on the west and south sides. Between those areas, Karwal says use has been spread out throughout the city.

Those looking to use the e-scooters or e-bikes have the option of paying for a single use or a pass for three days, one week, or one month. Only a few people have opted for the monthly pass, which Karwal says is normal when the service is still this new.

As far as safety goes, he tells LNN that they have “not heard of too many issues so far,” but that safety is something the company takes seriously.

At the time of launch, Neuron had about 250 e-scooters and 50 e-bikes in Lethbridge. They plan to double those numbers over time.

Riders can download the Neuron E-scooters and E-bikes app on Android and iOS devices and find available e-bikes and e-scooters in their area. Users then scan the vehicle with their smartphone, conduct a short safety check, and then hop on and ride.

READ MORE: E-scooter and e-bike program officially launches in Lethbridge