Data from Calgary shows that using an e-scooter has an injury rate that is nearly 600 times higher than taking public transit, according to a recent report from The Toronto Star.
The Alberta Health Services has been tracking the number of individuals who have ended up in hospital as a result of scooter injuries.
So far, 477 individuals have been reported in the hospital with injuries. The data shows that as of September, there were a total of 500,000 scooter trips taken. This results in an injury rate of 95,400 per 100 million rides.
There haven’t been any scooter-related deaths reported in Canada yet, however there have been eight in the U.S.
The Toronto Star compared the Calgary data to data from Austin, Texas, which showed that the Calgary injury rate was almost five times greater than in Austin.
It should be noted that the difference in the injury rate could be due to contrasts in the healthcare systems, and that many injuries go unreported in Austin.
Bird scooter recently launched a pilot project in Toronto’s Distillery District. Although e-scooters are still illegal in Ontario pending a five-year pilot project test, they are allowed in the Distillery District because it’s privately owned.
As for Calgary, Bird scooters have been available since July 29th. The launch followed an electric scooter pilot program with Bird and Lime in Calgary.
It’ll be interesting to see if this new data about the dangers of e-scooters will make Canadians shy away from using them.
Source: The Toronto Star
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