On Jul. 20, Neuron Mobility e-bikes and e-scooters were staged around the Waterloo campus.
“We are excited to share that this is happening,” said Eric Meliton, manager of Laurier’s Sustainability Office.
“When we were approached by Neuron almost a year and a half ago, it was because the Region of Waterloo has an alternative transportation strategy that, as a large employer in the Region and obviously a large student population in the Region, we wanted to support,” added Meliton.
Neuron Mobility, a rental e-scooter company started in Singapore, has recently partnered with multiple cities across Ontario to provide community members with rentable transportation devices.
The Region of Waterloo began its collaboration with Neuron Mobility in April of this year, and will continue to run the program until the end of October.
Five new Neuron Mobility rental locations have been added around the periphery of the Waterloo campus: “We really want to encourage students to use them and to choose better options to get around,” clarified Meliton.
“Majority of students are typically using the bus or walking or driving, and so we’re trying to encourage students to explore all their options,” said Meliton.
“E-bikes and e-scooters take advantage of our existing infrastructure. We have a lot of space that is available around the periphery of the campus, so students can use it to get around,” Meliton explained.
Members of the Laurier community will see varying benefits from the Neuron Mobility products.
“The actual benefit overall for the community is that it gives options during April to October for the next six years, as the program is seasonal every year, to try alternative forms of transportation that is not necessarily just the bus,” elaborated Meliton.
“It is electric, in terms of nature, there isn’t any carbon footprint that is added to it,” mentioned Meliton.
To rent an e-bike or e-scooter, users must download the Neuron Mobility app. The products cost $1.15 to rent and an additional 35 cents per minute while riding. Neuron also provides day, weekend and unlimited passes for purchase.
“[For] students who use their Laurier email address to register for the Neuron app, there are promo codes being offered …,” said Meliton.
Staging Neuron Mobility stations around a university campus leaves room for concern of impaired use, damages or theft.
“We were always concerned with pedestrians being hit by an e-scooter while they are walking or bikes running into each other. There are a lot of risks related to this. People on the roads and people not using helmets …We had those concerns and they were mitigated,” Meliton added.
Further, Meliton elaborated on how “Users may be drinking while they are using [Neuron Mobility products]. The Neuron app has a preventative security measure to prevent somebody from renting if they are drinking.”
Neuron Mobility products each have a GPS that enables users to ride only where permitted.
“If somebody does take them [e-bikes or scooters] and ignores the warning systems, Neuron can follow it and be able to retrieve it from wherever it gets taken because you can’t tamper with the GPS tracking,” said Meliton.
For more information on Neuron Mobility at Laurier and for a full list of rental locations around the Waterloo campus, visit the university’s website.
“It is nice to see something like this turn from a pilot six or seven years ago, into something tangible. We are excited to be a part of that,” said Meliton.