On a sunny afternoon this past summer, Riley Little hopped on an e-scooter for what was supposed to be a quick, fun ride.
Minutes later, she hit an uneven patch of pavement, lost control and ended up with half a front tooth.
“It all happened so fast. I don’t even know how I ended up falling, and I chipped my front tooth off,” said Little.
Her story is not unique.
Across Calgary, e-scooter-related injuries are on the rise, according to an analysis done earlier this year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Some riders question whether these devices truly offer the safe transportation marketers promised — or just another hazard on the city’s streets.
“I feel like there could be more done with the e-scooter’s safety policy to prevent this from happening,” said Little.
Her concerns highlight a broader debate across the country, a growing divide between those who see e-scooters as a sustainable way to travel and those who view them as a public safety issue.
Promoted as low-cost, eco-friendly and ideal for short trips, e-scooters have become a familiar sight in downtown areas.
For many, they promise convenience and mobility without the expense of owning a car.
A 2019 City of Calgary report highlighted concerns about abandoned and improperly parked scooters. The report also detailed concerns about double riding, sidewalk riding, and failing to yield to pedestrians.
Recent studies about e-scooter safety
According to data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), about 13 per cent of Canada’s estimated 15 million annual emergency department visits are injury-related.
This data also shows that transportation-related incidents, including motor vehicle and micro-mobility crashes, continue to rank among the leading causes.
In Calgary, local health officials reported dozens of scooter-related incidents in 2024 alone, ranging from broken wrists and concussions to serious facial injuries.
A 2025 U.S. study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine Research found that nearly 40 per cent of e-scooter injuries involve head trauma, often because riders don’t wear helmets.
The study highlighted concerns about how the combination of high speed, lack of protective gear and unpredictable surfaces creates the perfect conditions for serious injuries.
A similar 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) analyzed e-scooter injuries treated in Calgary emergency departments.
Researchers found that most patients were young adults, with nearly one-third suffering from head injuries, making up approximately 15 per cent of all injury cases in Calgary’s adult emergency departments during the summer e-scooter season.
What’s next for Calgary’s e-scooters?
The safety concerns have caught the attention of city officials and politicians.
The City of Calgary’s shared mobility program, launched in 2019, now limits scooter speeds in certain zones and restricts where they can be parked.
Still, not everyone believes regulation has gone far enough.
In Calgary’s recent municipal election, mayoral candidate Jeff Davison voiced frustration about scooters littering sidewalks and called for a revised set of pedestrian, scooter and cycling regulations along Stephen Avenue to reduce potential conflicts.