Between the launch of the bike share program to the end of 2024, Evolve found that they had over 2,000 unique riders in Nanaimo who travelled more than 27,000 km on their e-bikes. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

It has been a full year since the Evolve Bike Share program started in Nanaimo, and the company has announced an expansion of the bike share program while also introducing electric scooters into the mix.

In May of last year, the BCAA-operated company, Evolve, also known as Evo, introduced an e-bike share program in Nanaimo with almost 100 electric bicycles that could be borrowed and dropped off at one of the 16 different bike stations located primarily in the downtown area. More bike stations were later added around Vancouver Island University.

Outside of Nanaimo, the program was also introduced in the Comox Valley with 75 e-bikes.

Between the launch of the bike share program to the end of 2024, Evolve found that they had over 2,000 unique riders in Nanaimo who travelled more than 27,000 km on their e-bikes.

Now, they are expanding the program.

Following the news, CHLY spoke with Leanne Buhler, Head of Evolve at BCAA, about what residents in Nanaimo can expect from the expansion.

Buhler said they have received really good feedback from people in Nanaimo about the bike share program.

“We've run some surveys to hear more specifically how people feel about evolve now that it's been in their community for a year,” Buhler said. “What we heard is 77 per cent of respondents to our survey said that they felt Evolve added value to the overall transportation system, which is exactly what we were going for.”

She said since the beginning of the program, they knew they wanted to expand the program in Nanaimo in a phased approach, and have the bikes be in more than just the downtown area.

In the next couple of months, 26 new bike stations will be added in Nanaimo, stretching from the downtown and university area to the north end of Nanaimo near Woodgrove Mall.

The e-scooters will have speed limited to 25 km/h, and come with a helmet. Photo courtesy of Evolve.

Along with the expansion, Buhler said they will be rolling out Evolve e-scooters.

“So, just like the e-bikes on the road, the e-scooters start and end in designated parking locations,” she said. “So they'll live with the e-bikes in all of those existing parking stations, and the new ones that we're adding this coming year, they're also bookable through the Evo app.”

The e-scooters will have speed limited to 25 km/h, and just like the e-bikes, come with a helmet.

In 2024, the Nanaimo City Council adopted changes to the Traffic and Highways Regulation Bylaw to allow the use of e-scooters wherever bicycles are permitted in the city.

According to the bylaw, e-scooters are not allowed to be ridden on the sidewalk, and a helmet must be worn when riding on the scooter.

Buhler said they have been seeing riders choose the scooter for short-distance rides over bicycles.

“We're really seeing with e-scooters, is people are choosing those e-scooters for shorter trips, under three kilometres or under 10-minute trips,” she said. “Whereas we see the bikes are often used for longer trips, maybe we'll see more bike trips up and down the island on the E&N trail, sort of connecting those further places. Whereas we might see the e-scooters being more used in the smaller city pockets throughout Nanaimo.”

Buhler said while the trip costs money for the user to rent the bikes or scooters, the program, equipment, and infrastructure are fully funded and overseen by Evolve and BCAA.

“So Evolve, it's fully funded by BCAA,” she said. “So when we launched in Nanaimo, all of the expenses, everything related to operating the program, is funded by BCAA, and how we operate the business is that users pay for their individual trips or monthly subscriptions, and that supports the program financially.”

To make sure all riders know how to ride the e-scooter safely, Buhler said they will have safety information on their website and will be attending community events throughout the year for people to try out and learn about riding both the e-scooters and e-bikes safely.

“Additionally, we've got some safety information on our app itself, so when you pull up the app and go to book an e-scooter or an e-bike, it's got some reminders there about how to ride safely and about using a helmet as well,” she said.

A current ride costs $0.35 per minute or $12.99 per hour with a $1.25 unlock fee per trip. A monthly membership can be purchased for $9.99 a month to reduce the per-minute rate to $0.10.

According to Buhler, the new e-scooter should be rolling out in Nanaimo in mid-June of this year.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.