E-scooter and e-bike company pulls out of Kelowna

Photo: Contributed

One of Kelowna's primary e-scooter and e-bike providers is pulling out of the city.

Spin, recently purchased by Tier Mobility earlier this year, has announced they are exiting Kelowna and Canada. Tier Mobility also laid off about 10% of its workforce including a number of executives earlier this summer.

City of Kelowna transportation planner Cameron Noonan says Spin has left the city for the "foreseeable future" and any remaining user account balances have been refunded.

"Demand for micromobility in Kelowna remains strong, with over 200,000 trips made on shared e-scooters and e-bikes this year to date," Noonan said.

A Spin spokesperson says they have been in the process of retrieving the scooters and bikes scattered throughout the community. The spokesperson cited a lack of customers as the reason for leaving the community.

Spin also previously had operations in Edmonton, Red Deer and St. Albert, Canada, but never reactivated those cities after the winter of 2022 making Kelowna its last remaining Canadian market.

The move by Spin leaves Lime as the only remaining micro mobility rental provider left in Kelowna. Castanet reached out to Lime for comment on their plans for the fall/winter season and its future in Kelowna but did not receive a response.