Electric Scooters Are Sitting In A Montreal Warehouse & They're About To Swarm The City
There have been talks of an impending "scooterpocalypse" in Montreal for a few months because the city is gearing up for the arrival of Lime, a scooter-share company that has been taking the world by storm.
The California-based ride-sharing company was founded only two years ago and, already, Lime products can be found in over 20 countries across the world. After a much-anticipated wait, it seems that Lime's arrival in Montreal is happening sooner than later.
An eyewitness reported to MTL Blog that a fleet of Lime scooters is being stored in a St-Henri warehouse, seemingly ready to hit the streets of Montreal at any moment. Here's what we know so far.
If you download the Lime app in Montreal, you can sign up for the service and will be notified that scooters aren't available in the city yet. Similar to Uber Jump, you have to reserve a Lime scooter through the app and scan a QR code to rent it for a period of time.
However, some users have reported that they've seen scooters available. For example, this person saw one Lime scooter in service in St-Henri, close to where they're being stored.
It seems that a full charge will give you 20 kilometres of range and that renting the scooters will cost as much as Uber Jump. That means that for a 30-minute ride, it'll cost you $9 dollars.
Lime is a smashing success where ever it operates and it's likely that the company will replicate that success in Montreal. Critics, however, worry that the scooters will encounter problems with the highly combative and aggressive Montreal road network.
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Lime hopes that Montrealers will fervently embrace this new means of public transportation but they will have to compete with the STM and BIXI - local companies that offer less expensive alternative methods.
We reached out to the company, asking them when they expect to launch and they tell us that their "application for a permit to operate an electric scooter share is being processed by the City of Montreal. Lime has received provincial approval under the Quebec Pilot project concerning electric scooters for self-service rental."
Certainly, this means that Montrealers will soon be able to scoot alongside cars and bikes. Those who can't wait to ride Lime scooters should be advised that like all motorized transport, helmets are required by law.
We'll bring you the scoop once Lime officially launches in Montreal!
Drivers, take solace in the fact that while you're about to share the road with a bunch of electric scooters, it'll never get this bad because we have too many potholes.
