Abstract Manager

In the past few years there has been a rapid increase in the use of small electric or electric-assist micromobility vehicles such as e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards, which has opened up debates across Canada and around the world regarding where those new transportation modes should be permitted to operate, and what requirements they should meet. In some countries such as the Netherlands an even wider range micromobility solutions is becoming popular, including vehicles such as electric-assist cargo quadricycles used by logistics companies and online retailers for fast and sustainable last-mile deliveries in urban areas. Meanwhile people with physical disabilities can use fast mobility scooters on cycling infrastructure to get to their destinations more quickly than with a traditional wheelchair or mobility scooter.

Creating a thoughtful and generic regulatory framework for micromobility vehicle characteristics such as maximum speed, weight and power could enable micromobility vehicles to more safely and comfortably coexist with cyclists on cycling infrastructure, and avoid the need to rewrite regulations each time a new variant of small electric vehicle is popularized. Expanding the range of vehicle types using cycling infrastructure would increase its return on investment, and including a wider range of vehicle types would broaden the public support for the further development of a safe transportation networks suitable for small vehicles travelling at approximately cycling speed.

In this presentation, Narayan Donaldson and Nick Falbo will present the current state of micromobility regulations in Canada and compare it to the new regulatory frameworks that have been introduced by the European Union, the Netherlands and Sweden. They will also share how the Dutch regulatory framework fits in to the Dutch Sustainable Safety (Vision Zero) approach for the design of roadways and networks. The Dutch micromobility vehicle classes aim to encourage the use of new mobility solutions while minimizing conflicts with pre-existing road user types.