福利姬自慰

E-scooter startup by 福利姬自慰alumnus set to roll out in Kelowna, B.C.

A woman rides a Roll brand e-scooter in Toronto along the boardwalk downtown
A woman rides a Roll brand e-scooter in Toronto (photo courtesy of Roll Technologies)

A University of Toronto startup is racing toward its goal: to introduce electric scooters (e-scooters) in a way that is safe, legal and tailored to Canada. 

., whose CEO is 福利姬自慰Scarborough alumnus Richard Cao, has reached a deal with the city of Kelowna, B.C., believed to be the first city in Canada to welcome a program of e-scooters. The startup will deploy 200 e-scooters and 50 electronic bikes (e-bikes) in September. Users will be able to find, unlock and rent the scooters via Roll鈥檚 app.

鈥淓-scooters are a popular and effective form of shared mobility 鈥 and one that provides a green solution to a common urban transportation problem,鈥 says Cao, who is from Shanghai and graduated from 福利姬自慰Scarborough's management program in June.  

鈥淚 want to provide a reasonable product to the market that people actually need and can use in a safe way.鈥  

E-scooters appeared in the U.S. in , but problems arose when they were made available without extensive instructions, helmets or invitations from government bodies. ,  and  were rampant through 2018 and have . 

鈥淐anadian governments have been very conservative with e-scooters to minimize the risks 鈥 it鈥檚 a good thing, and one of the reasons American companies haven鈥檛 gotten into this market as quickly,鈥 Cao says. 

Cao鈥檚 father works in the Chinese manufacturing industry and has been making e-bikes and e-scooters for U.S. companies. This gave Cao the idea and connections to begin building a competitive startup.  

In March, Cao went to , 福利姬自慰Scarborough鈥檚 entrepreneurial incubator, and began working with its director, Gray Graffam

鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do is differentiate him straight up from what the other companies are doing,鈥 Graffam says. 鈥淚鈥檓 introducing him to various politicians and governing agencies to say, 鈥楬ow can I work with the city to introduce these e-scooters in a safe way?鈥欌

Cao built a team of six, and Roll has now launched its website, coded its app and crafted its bright yellow e-scooter.

鈥淚 want to provide a reasonable product to the market that people actually need and can use in a safe way,鈥 says Richard Cao (photo courtesy of Roll Technologies)

 

The platform of Roll鈥檚 e-scooter is wider and heavier than those of  major U.S. companies in an effort to make them more stable. The wheels are also larger, to help prevent them from getting caught in curbs or uneven street surfaces.  

 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 20 people were injured per 100,000 e-scooter trips, with half of those injured sustaining head injuries. 

The study noted head injuries could have been prevented by wearing a helmet, but only one of the 190 injured people in the study was wearing one. That鈥檚 why Cao is making wearing a helmet mandatory for all users, and is launching a free helmet program.

The same study found that one-third of injured users were harmed on their first time riding an e-scooter. So, Roll鈥檚 app will identify first-time users and lock the e-scooters into a lowered speed. 

Roll is also working to make sustainability a priority, because while the scooters may seem eco-friendly, a short lifespan can send them on a fast track to the landfill.

That鈥檚 why Cao has made durability a focus in his design. Part of Roll's daily operations will be investigating scooters and making every effort to repair them instead of replacing them.

 

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