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Image Credit: TWITTER/City of Kelowna

A six-month review of Kelowna’s shared e-scooter program shows a high level of usage with a low level of complaints and few injuries.

From April 12, when the program was launched, to October there were 225,000 trips or about 1,500 per day.

During that time there were 211 complaints.

READ MORE: New rules cut Kelowna e-scooter program by more than half

“The most common concerns submitted have been related to improper e-scooter parking (32% of complaints), sidewalk riding (23%) and lack of helmet wearing (19%),” Mariah VanZerr, the city’s strategic transportation planning manager, wrote in a report going to Kelowna city council on Monday, Nov. 22.

“In response to the concerns, the city has implemented approximately 85 amendments to how shared e-scooter service is delivered since the start of the program, which has helped reduce the number of complaints over time.”

Since mid-May when changes to the e-scooter rules started to be made, 95% of the scooters have been parked correctly, the report said.

As of July 1, technology was required to detect when scooters were on sidewalks and operators started issuing fines to people riding them there, which has cut down on that practice.

There were 51 injuries recorded at Kelowna General Hospital’s emergency ward that were attributed to e-scooters and the rate of injury has declined over time, the report said.

The average ride for the 225,000 trips was 16 minutes, covering two kilometres.

READ MORE: Move over e-scooters, e-bike share program launches in Kelowna

Thirty-three per cent of trips were done on e-scooters rather than driving so that reduced the amount of mileage driven in cars by 148,500 km, about what it would take to drive around the world four times. That also takes 29 tonnes of greenhouse gasses out of the air, the report said.

There were 69,000 e-scooter accounts created, with 46,000 of them by Central Okanagan residents. City staff estimated 20 to 30% of Kelowna’s population over the age of 16 have tried a rented e-scooter.

The e-scooter program is on a three-year trial basis after the province allowed pilot programs in certain cities where the scooters can be ridden the same places as bicycles.

The current permits expire April 19, 2022, so staff are asking council to agree to a new permitting program to start in December to limit it to two operators and grant two-year permits.

Council also wants to require operators to attach a helmet to each scooter.

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