Neuron

 Kitchener is attempting a new transport system of rentable electric scooters and bikes called the Neuron.

Considering our lightrail is called the Ion, I guess they're going for some kind of theme. It's meant to be a clean-energy alternative to cars.

I was a heavy critic of the development of the Ion and now benefit greatly from it, so I don't want to be too much of a naysayer, but I do have a few concerns.

The helmet. I haven't needed one for a long time, but there's a lot of anxiety about lice and headgear.  With a public-access vehicle you don't know whose worn it before you. Also, I don't think helmets are one-size-fits-all, and I wonder how much protection you get from a poorly-fitted one. You could bring your own helmet, but even then it's chipping away at the convenience factor of using one of these.

The cost. You register a credit card with it and it charges based on how long you use it. $1.15 entry fee and then $0.35 a minute, so an hour would be $22.15. Unlimited three day pass is $25, weekly $33. You can also get a monthly pass with a time cap of 90 minutes per day for $89. Compare with bus and rail fare. $3.50 cash, $2.92 with a fare card per ride. $90 monthly.

Two single trips per day with fare card for three days on the bus costs $17.52 compared to the Neuron's $25 (although that's unlimited trips). The same conditions weekly would be $40.88 on the bus, $33 on the Neuron. Monthly, you can get unlimited trips on the bus for $90 a month, or 90 minutes of riding daily for $89 on the Neuron.

I think you only really pull ahead by the Neuron if you buy weekly passes and use it regularly. You're not going to get the same distance with it and it's more weather dependent. The prices are competitive but not, I would say, to the point of being considered a more affordable alternative for most people.

Parking. These are free-floating vehicles. They don't have specific approved parking spaces, so you can leave them anywhere on the routes they're meant to be used. Apparently someone goes around and collects them each night, brings them in and charges them. If the batteries are reliably loaded and the vehicles are easily located, this isn't an issue, but the lack of consistency with location seems bad for reliability. Maybe you scoot from home to a restaurant, and when you come out somebody's taken it. Or you bike to work but it's not there when you're done. You'd never be sure you have a return trip if you were going two ways. My bus fare estimates were based on an assumption that you'd need to go one way and back, as that seems a standard need.

The routes. Apparently you can't just go anywhere with these. You have to stick to bike lanes within a certain area. If you ride on sidewalk, apparently it shouts "Sidewalk detected!" If you leave the approved area, it starts to wind down and eventually locks. This is fair enough, but the available approved routes are a little limiting. Notoriously, the approved areas snake around the Iron Horse Trail, a popular paved trail and Waterloo Region's longest, on which some of the favourite modes of transport are already e-scooters and e-bikes. Just seems like a missed opportunity. Even if you're a pedestrian and find them annoying it seems inconsistent.

If I were to make suggestions, I'd say there should be designated parking stations, and I'd open up the Iron Horse Trail. The prices are actually not that bad. The helmet thing sketches me out and I don't know how to fix it.

I've been surprised to see them get as much use as they have. Seems their main demographic is students. It will be interesting to see if they maintain consistent use, or if this is just because of hype.

I do like that it's a clean energy alternative to travel, I like the attempt to make the city less car dependent, and it seems like a cool city project. If nothing else, good for them for trying.