Many of the blue Bird electric bikes are now being seen on streets around Newton as part of an expanded e-bike-sharing pilot program in Surrey.
In April, Surrey council voted to expand the pilot to Newton for one year, following the program launch in Surrey City Centre in the spring of 2024.
The program operates at no-cost to the City thanks to an exclusive contract with Bird Canada, which owns, operates and maintains a fleet of electric bikes available for rent through its app.
In Newton, BIA executive director Philip Aguirre says the shared Bird e-bikes are a welcome sight.
"As an organization dedicated to enhancing the local economy, improving the quality of life, and fostering innovation within Newton, we strongly believe that Bird Canada initiatives align with our mission and will greatly benefit the residents and businesses in our area," Aguirre wrote in a letter of endorsement.
"We believe that this partnership is a step forward in building a more connected and environmentally responsible Newton," he added.
Users download an app to find and scan a “Bird” (e-bike), ride it, then park the vehicle after it’s no longer needed, for an “unlock” fee of $1.15 plus 38 cents per minute.
Bird operates similar e-bike/scooter programs in several other Canadian cities, but the company can offer only e-bikes for sharing in Surrey, due to provincial regulations. E-scooters are not currently legal to operate in road right-of-way in Surrey, which is not among "participating communities" in a provincial electric kick scooter pilot program that involves 26 cities and districts across B.C. including Vancouver (where Lime is the city's vendor), Coquitlam and Richmond.
As for Bird's e-bikes in Surrey, a two-year pilot was launched during the 2024 Party for the Planet festival, celebrating Earth Day.
By year's end, close to 4,000 riders had ridden 40,000-plus kilometres on the 200-plus bikes in the program, "which is impressive given that the program does not, as of yet, cover the full City of Surrey," Austin Spademan, head of government partnerships for Bird Canada, said in April.
"It was also a seamless first season in Surrey with just 11 complaints total about the program, as per the City of Surrey, and most of those occurred in the initial six weeks of the program launch while we were still perfecting our operations. It's been impressive how fast the program has been accepted and utilized by residents."
—with a file from Tom Zytaruk
