Kick, push, coast. That乌鸦传媒檚 what Kelownians will be doing shortly now that the City of Kelowna has penned a deal with United States-based e-scooter company Spin.

In the San Francisco company乌鸦传媒檚 international debut, a fleet of 400 electric scooters will be delivered to Kelowna 乌鸦传媒渓ikely soon,乌鸦传媒� active transportation coordinator Matt Worona said.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e really excited about this,乌鸦传媒� Worona said on being Canada乌鸦传媒檚 first city to welcome Spin乌鸦传媒檚 e-scooter share program.

READ MORE: City of Kelowna responds to DropBike pullout

Alternative transportation with an electric component has been more attractive to audiences than the typical pedal-powered bicycle share programs, Worona said.

乌鸦传媒淔rom last year to this year, the industry has moved quite a bit faster to the electric kick scooters and away from general bikes,乌鸦传媒� he said.

The city continues to look for more opportunities with other alternative transportation share programs to create a competitive market.

Worona, alongside city staff and councillors, have to be met before issuing permits with companies to ensure a fair playing field.

乌鸦传媒淚t won乌鸦传媒檛 be a Wild West,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭here will be multiple players abiding by the same rules.乌鸦传媒�

Currently, the City of Kelowna is talking with the Ministry of Transportation to change regulations to allow this type of vehicle on roadways. As it stands, Worona said, the e-scooters can only be used on multi-use paths such as the Rail Trail.

READ MORE: Dropbike recycles busted bicycles at Kelowna recycling facility

He said the ministry is looking to change this as soon as Monday.

乌鸦传媒淲e want to be a place where people test things,乌鸦传媒� Worona said. 乌鸦传媒淲e want to be a place where innovation happens. This is a really, really big deal for Kelowna.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淭he fact that we乌鸦传媒檙e open to this kind of thing helps shape the idea of what kind of city this is.乌鸦传媒�

Worona said the people of Kelowna can expect more permits with similar companies to be issued next week.

Caitlin.clow@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .