Popularity of E-scooters soaring in Calgary

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – It hasn’t taken long for little green and black E-scooters to pop up everywhere in Calgary.

Many Calgarians have taken advantage of the new form of transportation after Lime Canada introduced its fleet in July.

Last Monday, Bird Canada followed suit releasing over 300 of its E-scooters.

To say the scooters are popular might be an understatement as Ward 7 Councillor Druh Farrell said there have been 80,000 trips between July 13 and 29.

One man we talked to believed the scooters are working well for Calgary.

“In general, I think everyone is being pretty respectful of them and I think it’s a great way for people to get around.”

Another scooter rider said while they are fun to ride, some rule changes need to happen.

“I think the bike paths would be the right spot for them. The sidewalk, probably, in some places because the road isn’t other better. They almost need their own little area to go.”

READ MORE: More E-scooters fly into Calgary

However, there is one side to the business you might not be aware of: The juicers and bird hunters.

These workers search for scooters no longer in use and make sure they’re charged and ready to go.

Joel is one of those workers and he compares the job to a scavenger hunt, saying he makes $5.25 per scooter.

“If you pick up 20 a night, yeah you’d be doing pretty good. It’s a good side gig.”

WATCH: Mixed reviews for E-scooters

In the U.S. this job has become a problem as turf wars are breaking out but Joel said this hasn’t translated to Calgary yet but he has had one incident.

“There was one time that I was picking up a scooter and I was actually confronted by a guy telling me that I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. I’m actually helping out by charging the scooter, putting it out there for people to use.”

The E-scooter pilot project will go until October 2020 and city council will then determine if they are here to stay.