Concerns about the growing use of privately owned e-scooters in Mississauga have prompted Deputy Mayor and Ward 8 Councillor Matt Mahoney to call for a city-wide ban on the devices, citing serious safety risks for young people and the broader community.
“These things scare the hell out of me,” said Mahoney during remarks at a recent City of Mississauga general committee meeting. “I hate these scooters and I want them banned.”
Mahoney, a long-time critic of the city’s e-scooter and e-bike rental program launched in 2024, turned his attention to privately owned e-scooters that, he said, are increasingly being operated at unsafe speeds and without proper safety measures. He recounted recent incidents in which he witnessed a teenager speeding past his vehicle without a helmet and a father riding with a small child on an e-scooter, also without helmets.
“I think if you polled the high schools out there to see how many of these kids are bringing scooters going 60 km/h to school, I think it’s alarming,” Mahoney said. “Outside of the vendors’ scooters in our pilot project, these private scooters are becoming more and more of an issue.”
While acknowledging that full council support for an outright ban may not be immediate, Mahoney pressed city staff to provide clarity on enforcement. “We need a better understanding of how we’re going to police them because when you have 15-year-olds riding around at unsafe speeds without helmets, and limited ability to enforce the law, this will only get worse.”
City solicitor Graham Walsh responded that the city itself has authority to enforce existing provincial regulations and, if necessary, introduce local bylaws governing the use of e-scooters.
The City’s e-scooter rental program, which has placed approximately 900 scooters and 300 e-bikes across Mississauga, will also undergo a review as its second season concludes. The program has faced challenges with improper parking and public complaints, though adjustments this year included over 100 new designated parking stations. Mayor Carolyn Parrish previously suggested scrapping the program after its first year, though it was allowed to continue with modifications.
E-bikes available under the same initiative have not presented significant concerns and remain available for rent year-round.
Mississauga Council is expected to revisit the issue later this year as part of broader discussions on micro-mobility and community safety.