The City of Victoria is currently looking to implement a new e-bike share system and are seeking feedback from the public on how best to go about the process.
In order to get feedback on where in the city would be best to set up e-bike parking hubs for the endeavour, a digital map has been launched.
Those who wish to provide input can add pins to the digital map to indicate where they might want to ride the e-bikes.
Using this information, the City will establish where they could potentially establish parking hubs for the e-bikes that would best suit the community.
City staff will then select potential locations that are near the ‘All Ages and Abilities’ bike network, close to key destinations and are visible and accessible.
The proposed parking zones will be around one parking space in size, depending on location and anticipated demand.
Once the roll-out of the e-bike share system is complete in 2026, there will be parking zones distributed throughout Victoria.
The plan is that once the bike share system launches, e-bikes and helmets will be available in designated parking zones across the city, and available to rent using a smartphone app.
Users will need to begin and end their bike share trips in these designated parking zones.
Those wishing to share feedback on where the parking zones may be located can do so online, here.
The initiative to establish an e-bike share system in Victoria came before council in early July, just shortly after the City of Langford launched their e-bike and e-scooter system.
At the time, a provider for the e-bike share system had not been identified, as City of Victoria staff were to seek options and report back to council.
Past attempt at bike-sharing in Victoria
Between 2017 and 2018, a company called U-Bicycle operated a “dockless” bike share system in the region, but a City report found that this was done recklessly and without the proper framework.
“The lack of fleet management practices and user requirements resulted in accessibility concerns for pedestrians and operational maintenance challenges for City crews,” read the motion that came before council in early July.
“The lack of regulations and requirements combined with unsophisticated technology led to a high degree of theft and vandalism. These lessons learned have contributed directly to this report’s recommendations.”
Despite the fact that a bike share in Victoria has been tried, and failed, City staff say that the advancements in technology over the past seven years addresses the issues the City had previously with U-Bicycle.
