Ottawa has become the first city to implement central control of its e-scooter fleet using technology from Singapore-based Neuron Mobility.

Neuron’s safety and innovation technology has earned the company a place in Ottawa’s third e-scooter season. Beginning this month, Neuron will deploy a fleet of e-scooters equipped with technologies to offer control over how e-scooters are managed in the city.

Neuron’s high-accuracy location technology, rapid geofence detection and dangerous riding detection were tested in Ottawa as part of a global trial. Ottawa will become the first city in the world where Neuron has fully implemented these innovations across an entire fleet of e-scooters.

Using these technologies, Neuron can provide high accuracy geofencing, designate precise smart parking locations, and help detect and control sidewalk riding.

The fleet will also feature an acoustic vehicle alerting system (AVAS), an always-on warning noise that alerts pedestrians, particularly those with vision loss, that an e-scooter is approaching. Last year in Ottawa, Neuron was the first and only e-scooter operator in Canada to launch a multi-month trial of AVAS technology on over 100 devices in its active fleet, a feature that is now required by all e-scooter operators for the 2022 riding season in Ottawa.

Ottawa’s riders have embraced Neuron’s rental e-scooters since they launched in 2021. Last year, Neuron users travelled more than 240,000km in Ottawa, avoiding an estimated 18 tonnes of CO₂ emissions by choosing a Neuron e-scooter instead of a car.

Seventy-nine per cent of riders used e-scooters to visit restaurants and cafes, and to explore the city, while 67 per cent made a purchase during their most recent trip.

Ottawa riders can book and use the e-scooters through Neuron’s app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play and set up in minutes.