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Why electric scooters make sense for everyday city trips

Short trips, bus connections, lunch runs and errands: here is where a shared e-scooter fits into getting around town, and how to ride and park it well.

Many trips around town are short: a coffee run, a stop at the bank, a ride to the bus. A car can be more vehicle than the job needs, and walking can take longer than you have.

That gap is where an electric scooter earns its place. It isn't a replacement for walking, cycling, the bus, or your car. It's one more good option to pick from when the trip fits.

Electric, with no tailpipe

An e-scooter runs on a battery and an electric motor, so it produces no tailpipe emissions while you ride.

It's not zero-impact, though. Building the scooter, charging it, collecting it for service, and how long it lasts all add to its life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions. The good news: research on shared e-scooters found that when a scooter trip replaces a trip in an average personal car, emissions almost always come out lower.

The missing link to the bus

Transit works best when getting to the stop is easy. A scooter can cover that first or last stretch, from home to the stop or from the stop to work. In a study of 322,000 shared e-scooter trips in Hanover, Germany, researchers identified about a quarter as trips to or from rail transit. Around Greater Moncton, that could mean riding to a Codiac Transpo stop and taking the bus the rest of the way.

A lot less to move

Shared scooters are light. For example, Segway lists its S90L fleet scooter at 30 kg, about 66 lb. A typical new car or SUV weighs well over 3,000 lb, or more than 1,360 kg.

Energy use doesn't rise in direct proportion to weight, but moving one person on a scooter takes far less energy than moving them in a car.

Pay for the ride, not the vehicle

A car comes with ongoing costs well beyond fuel, including insurance, maintenance, and depreciation. The CAA Driving Costs Calculator is a good way to see what yours adds up to.

With a shared scooter, you don't buy, insure, repair, or store anything. You pay for the trip you take. For a suitable short trip, that can be an economical choice. You can check current rates and passes on the iRoll wallet page and in the app before you start.

Leave when you're ready

There's no timetable to work around. Open the app, find a nearby scooter, and go.

Check the app for nearby scooters, current availability, and permitted riding and parking zones. iRoll scooters run across Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview, and the map shows where you can ride and where speed is limited.

Made for everyday errands

Scooters shine on trips that are a bit too long to walk and too short to bother with the car:

  • Picking up a few things from the store
  • Heading out for lunch and back
  • Meeting friends downtown
  • Trying that local café or shop you keep meaning to visit

Less space, if you park it right

A scooter takes up a small fraction of the road and parking space a car does. When a scooter replaces a car trip, that's one less car looking for a spot.

That only works if scooters stay out of the way. Park in a permitted parking area shown in the app, and keep sidewalks, entrances, and accessible routes clear. Our riding instructions and zone guide explain where you can park, and you'll submit a photo of the parked scooter to end your ride.

A better way to see the city

A scooter gets you outside. You notice the river, the new mural, the patio that just opened. On a nice day, getting there is part of the fun.

Ride safely: wear a helmet, stay off sidewalks, yield to pedestrians, and follow local rules. iRoll riders must be at least 16.

Give it a try

Electric scooters won't suit every trip, and that's fine. Walk, bike, take the bus, or drive when that makes the most sense. For the rest, open the iRoll app, find a nearby scooter, and make your next short trip a ride. New to iRoll? Here's how an iRoll ride works.

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