We tried both Calgary e-scooter brands Lime and Bird — here’s how they compare

That’s because these scooters are motorized. On Monday, Bird Canada Inc. deployed a couple hundred of the black and white devices throughout the downtown area with plans to unleash up to 500 more in the coming weeks as part of a pilot project in the city.

They’re the second e-scooter company to launch in the city since the province granted scooters an exemption to the Alberta Traffic Safety Act in June. Lime, the company that launched bright green, dockless motor-assisted bikes in October 2018, brought their dockless motor-assisted scooters to the streets on July 3, just before Stampede began.

Both companies have roots in the U.S. Lime, which got its start in California in 2017, recently launched a project in Berlin, Germany and in several South American cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Lima, Peru. Waterloo, Ont., was the company’s first Canadian program. Calgary is the first Canadian project for Bird Canada Inc., which launched in America in 2018.

So how do Bird and Lime e-scooters compare? Are they easy to use? Are they worth the cost? While at first blush, the scooters appear similar, there are a few distinctions. Star Calgary took a ten minute ride on each version.

Here’s a run down of the experience:

Getting Started

Setting up an account with both Bird and Lime is a pretty quick process — users have to download the app, create an account with an email, then navigate to the in-app payment option to add a credit card.

The main screen of both apps features a map that displays the location of the nearest scooters. For Lime, only scooters that are fully charged and are not in use are shown. For Bird, I came across a few scooters displayed on the map that were not charged. Lime also offers the option to “reserve” a scooter, meaning for a per-minute price, you can claim the scooter before actually reaching it.

The dockless scooters can be dropped off and picked up almost anywhere. The scooters are charged by freelancers affiliated with the companies. Lime has “juicers” while Bird has “hunters.”

Walking through a residential area in the Beltline on a weekday morning, the e-scooters were relatively easy to find — there was at least one of each within 500 metres.

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I approached a white and green Lime scooter first. To unlock the scooter, you use the in-app camera to scan a code located between the scooter’s handlebars. As I scramble to get my phone back in my purse so I can start my ride (time is money with these things), an LED screen located between the handlebars warned me that the battery drains much quicker while the scooter is unlocked but not in motion. Sure enough, about a minute later, the battery life displayed on the screen dropped from 90 per cent to 89 per cent.

Bird scooters, which also unlock by scanning a code, don’t have a screen, a speedometer or a place to see the battery life — just two lights (green and red). You can, however, check a Bird scooter’s battery life in the app.

Looking at the map, I also discovered Bird has tighter boundaries.

While Lime scooters can be found and ridden anywhere in the city, Bird scooters are located only downtown and in surrounding neighbourhoods. Outer boundaries for using Bird scooters include Hillhurst, the SAIT campus and Peters’ Drive-In in the north, Calgary Zoo to the east and Mission and Ramsay in the south.

Many users are still learning the rules of renting the scooters, including ensuring that riders are at least 18 years old.

The ride

I kicked off for my first ride on the Lime scooter. The LED screen showed I was going about four kilometres per hour as I planted both feet on the foot board — that is, until my thumb pressed down on the throttle on the right handlebar and I sprang forward, hitting about 15 kilometres per hour. This is limit of my comfort zone, and just shy of the Calgary bylaw limit of 20 kilometres per hour for scooters.

The kick off on the Bird scooter was a similar process. It was slightly smoother as I was now more experienced. The Bird scooter felt lighter, and was seemingly easier to turn and stop.

For both scooters I only rode on the sidewalk, hitting the road only when crossing the street.

With Bird, I seemed to feel every bump and crack in the pavement, making it a bit uncomfortable. But overall, they both felt similar to control — there is a break on the left handlebar and at the back of the foot board. There’s a bell on the left handle bar, and a throttle to accelerate on the right. It felt similar to when I first learned how to drive a car — jerky until I learned how much pressure to apply. Bird and Lime each have headlights for nighttime escapades.

Cost

On both scooters, the price The price comes at the end of the ride for both.

Lime has a cheaper rate per minute (30 cents) but there is a $1 unlocking fee per use. Bird has a rate of 35 cents per minute but no unlocking fee — yet. In a news release on Monday, Bird said it might bring in an unlocking fee after Aug. 12. The company didn’t confirm what that fee would be, just that it would have pricing “similar” to its competitor.

A 20 minute ride on either scooter adds up to $7 ($6 per minute for Lime, plus the $1 unlocking fee, and $7 total for Bird), so unless you’re taking the scooter out for a long-haul trip, neither is significantly more expensive. If you’re a frequent rider, you might eventually save a few bucks by using Bird scooters — at least until mid August if the company decides to use an unlocking fee.

Bird also offers free helmets (though there is a shipping fee). Lime had a similar offer through a worldwide safety campaign where those who pledged to ride with a helmet would be sent a free one, though only for the first 250,000 people to pledge. It’s not clear if the pledge/helmet offer is still valid.

What users say

Wayne Gilbart was cruising around in the Eau Claire area while taking a break from work on Monday. He said he’s used the Lime scooter about four or five times since last week. For him, it’s a quick way to get to his car, which he parks in a lot about one kilometre away from his office.

“As soon as these came out, I was like, I gotta try,” he said. “So far, so good. I like it just because it’s fun.”

Helen Andranistakis and her 11-year-old son, Jake Desjardins were in town from Winnipeg to visit family. It was their second time (and second day in a row) riding the scooters. Since her son doesn’t have a cellphone, Andranistakis said she had to rent one from each company as the apps don’t let users rent more than one scooter at a time.

Desjardins said he prefers the Bird scooters because of the colour scheme and he thinks the handlebars are smoother to grip. Meanwhile, Andranistakis prefers the Lime so she can monitor her speed. She shrugged off the price difference, noting that neither seemed notably more expensive.

“They’re super fun,” she said. “Bring it to Winnipeg. That’s what we’d like.”

Update – July 31, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version to include additional information.