An e-scooter rider crossing Bay St. in Toronto on Sept 5, 2024. E-scooters are banned on all roads, sidewalks and bike lanes and paths in Toronto unless it is private property.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
I was surprised to read that e-scooters aren’t allowed in bike lanes in Toronto, because I definitely see them in bike lanes here. Is there anywhere else you’re not allowed to ride them? Because I see them pretty much everywhere, including on sidewalks. I’m asking because I’d like to get one for my commute, but I don’t want to break any rules. – Hal, Toronto
When it comes to e-scooters, E doesn’t stand for everywhere.
But in Ontario, exactly where you can ride depends on which city you’re in.
“It’s really confusing to people that you can ride an e-scooter in Mississauga, but if you cross into Toronto, you’re hooped,” said David Shellnutt, a Toronto-based personal injury lawyer who specializes in cycling-related cases. “The whole thing has been confusing and complicated since the start.”
In Ontario, some cities, including Brampton, Mississauga and Ottawa, allow e-scooters as part of a six-year-old provincial pilot program. That pilot allows e-scooters that can’t go faster than 24 kilometres an hour, as long as the rider is 16 or older.
You can’t ride with a passenger and, if you’re under 18, you must wear a helmet. It also says where you can and can’t ride them. For instance, you can’t ride them on a sidewalk and if there’s a bike lane, you have to use it.
Cities can decide whether to take part and they can set extra limits on where they’re allowed.
People cross Elgin Street on rental e-scooters in Ottawa June 25, 2023. Ottawa allows e-scooters as part of a six-year-old provincial pilot program.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Banned in Toronto
In Mississauga, for instance, scooters are allowed most places bikes are, except on roads with speed limits of more than 50 kilometres an hour.
But because Toronto is not part of the pilot, you can’t ride an e-scooter anywhere there – except on private property. That means e-scooters are banned from roads, sidewalks, all bike lanes, multi-use paths and parks there.
“It is totally illegal to ride them [in Toronto],” said Sean Shapiro, a road safety expert and former Toronto traffic cop. “We see them everywhere – and no one’s doing anything about it … it’s a total breakdown of the system.”
While that ban means e-scooter sharing companies such as Lime and Bird can’t operate in Toronto, it also means you can’t ride your own e-scooter.
Legal to buy
”You can buy them at Best Buy," Shellnutt said. “How are you penalizing people for riding these things when you’re allowing major distributors to sell them to people?”
We reached out to a few retailers that sell e-scooters online including Best Buy Canada and didn’t get an immediate response. But a Best Buy listing for an e-scooter with an advertised top speed of 45 kilometres an hour – 21 kilometres above the provincial limit – showed availability at three Toronto locations. The listing has a disclaimer that “strongly” recommends following local laws.
We asked Toronto police how many tickets or warnings they issued for e-scooters last year. A spokeswoman said they didn’t have that number available. But police issued 1,278 tickets in 2025 for all micromobility devices, including bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters – up from 666 in 2024.
Outside Ontario, the rules vary by province and city. Many cities, including Vancouver and Halifax, allow e-scooters in bike lanes. But in Calgary, for instance, you can ride a shared e-scooter in bike lanes but if you own the scooter, you can’t, a city spokeswoman said in an e-mail.
And while many cities don’t allow e-scooters on sidewalks, Calgary allows shared scooters on some sidewalks, but not privately owned scooters.
Real risks
Two e-scooter riders have died in collisions with motor vehicles this summer – a 27-year-old man on July 17 and a 43-year-old man on July 29.
Toronto emergency rooms are also seeing a growing number of e-scooter injuries.
Visits related to e-scooter falls rose to 804 in 2024 from 423 in 2022, with the highest injury rates among kids and teens between 10 and 19, according to Toronto Public Health.
The emergency department at Toronto’s SickKids hospital saw one e-scooter-related injury in 2020, 46 in 2024 and 107 in 2025, said Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, a paediatric emergency doctor and chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s injury prevention committee.
While more enforcement is necessary, it’s critical that riders understand the risks, said Michael Longfield, executive director of Cycle Toronto.
“Schools and parents need to know that these things are not toys – and that people can get seriously hurt using them, whether they’re legal or not,” Longfield said.
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