The reviews are in: Locals test out new e-scooter and e-bike rentals in Waterloo region

Reviews are pouring in from people in Waterloo region who've had a chance to use the new bright orange e-scooters and e-bikes available for rent.

Five-hundred electric bikes and scooters from Neuron Mobility were introduced to the region earlier this month.

Hafeez Alavi, a university student, said he's had a chance to hop on an e-scooter a couple of times already.

"My experience with this has been kind of mixed," he said, adding that his ride wasn't perfectly hassle-free.

"The scooters themselves ride up pretty nicely but the problem is that the scooter unintentionally thinks that you're riding on the sidewalk when you might be just riding on the road. So for safety reasons it'll slow and stop the scooter, which can be very scary, especially if you're on the main road. So that was not a fun experience."

Vishnu Sharma, a high schooler from Cameron Heights Collegiate, said he's been renting the e-bike to get to class on time.

"It's pretty fairly simple to use," he said. "I've used the scooter as well and sometimes it does get a bit fast. So it's a bit hard to control at the start, but then you get used to it."

Divyanshu Virdi is a Conestoga College student who signed up to help collect e-scooters and e-bikes that need to be recharged.

He said the job kept him especially busy on Monday because so many people were out using the electric vehicles over the sunny weekend.

"From every station, it's almost four to five scooters and I've been to 15 stations so far [on Monday]," he said. "Yesterday [on Sunday] it was even more busy. People are enjoying it very much."

Virdi said his job also involves straightening out any scooters or bikes that may have fallen over. He's also been tasked with moving and parking any out-of-place scooters at a designated parking station.

Tanveen Kaur and Parneet Kaur go to Conestoga College in Downtown Kitchener — but they don't feel like they would frequently use either of the e-vehicles for rent.

For them, it's more of a novelty ride.

"It's not that much expensive and we will also try to take new adventure," Tanveen Kaur said. "It's not for every day but we will use like if we want to travel to [Waterloo]. We have a lot of traffic, so I think that's a good way."

"We're new international students so in summers I think this will be a good option for us," Parneet Kaur said. "We want to explore new things."

Cost

After Sharma rode an e-bike along King Street in Kitchener to his high school on Tuesday, he quickly found out that the Neuron app would not let him park his e-bike anywhere on the sidewalk.

Following directions on the Neuron app on his phone, he had to ride the e-bike for a couple more minutes to drop it off at the next nearest designated stop, located in front of Kitchener City Hall.

Sharma said he did not mind paying the cost for the two extra minutes, which adds up to 70 cents.

"It's an easy mode of transportation and if I have to go somewhere that's a ten minute walk, but it's a two minute bike ride, I'd rather not take the bus because that's that's $3.15 when I can get here for a dollar or two dollars."

His ten-minute bike ride on Tuesday cost him just under five dollars.

Alavi said the cost of renting the e-scooters will prevent him from using it too often.

"If you rode the bike for 20 minutes, that could add up to a lot of money. That would be more than a bus fare. It's more than other bike share systems across Canada."

Riders can pay as they go by unlocking an e-vehicle for $1.15 and riding at 35 cents a minute. A weekly pass for unlimited rentals costs $33. There is also an option for a three day pass at $25 and a monthly pass at $89, with 90 minutes of daily ride time.

The cost to ride an e-vehicle in Waterloo region is comparable, for instance, to Ottawa, where Bird Canada charges users $1.15 to unlock and 35 cents a minute, plus tax.

But it is a little cheaper in Montreal, where Lime Micromobility rents e-bikes and e-scooters across the city, riders need to pay $1 to unlock the vehicle and 30 cents per minute after that.

Collecting feedback

Neuron Mobility's head of corporate affairs, Isaac Ransom, sent CBC News a statement to say they are aware of feedback from local riders with suggestions on how to improve the service.

"The program is in its very early stages and riders can expect ongoing optimization to improve the experience as the program evolves," the statement said in part.

"We are committed to working closely with our municipal partners in Waterloo Region to make sure that our industry leading safety features, including voice assistance, an integrated helmet, wide riding deck, follow my ride feature and topple detection, keep everyone safe."

In a statement, the Region of Waterloo said it has also received community feedback on how to improve rider experience.

"We continue to work closely with Neuron Mobility and will provide them with the feedback we receive to make the program better for all members of our community, including riders, pedestrians and other road users," the statement said.

"All feedback received will be gathered and used to assess the success of the program."