E-scooter injuries are escalating sharply in Edmonton, with 1,198 people admitted to emergency departments or urgent care centres in the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to Alberta Health Services data. That marks a 47 per cent increase from 813 visits the previous year. Children are among the hardest hit: 136 were treated at Stollery Children’s Hospital, more than double the 61 in 2024-25.
Injuries go beyond scrapes
Dr. Erin Bristow, an emergency department physician at the University of Alberta Hospital, said e-scooter injuries often extend far beyond minor cuts and bruises. A 2025 study she co-authored in the Canadian Journal of Surgery found that of 759 Edmontonians injured on e-scooters in the three years after their 2019 introduction, 62 per cent had more than one injury. Fractures accounted for 32 per cent of injuries, and head injuries for 17 per cent.
Provincially, e-scooter injuries rose 33 per cent over the same period, from 2,282 to 3,049 visits. The victims tend to be young, with a median age of 28, and a roughly even male-female split. Twenty per cent arrived by ambulance, signalling both injury severity and strain on emergency services.
Healthcare system under pressure
“We don’t have enough ambulances,” Bristow said. “We’re always waiting for ambulances, so that’s a significant burden to the healthcare system.” While only 5.5 per cent of injured riders were formally admitted to hospital, 30 per cent required follow-up care, and nine per cent needed surgery within a month of their emergency visit.
“These are young, young people, sort of prime of their lives, having these injuries,” Bristow added. She recalled her own idyllic first experience with e-scooters in Los Angeles, but said orthopaedic and plastic surgeons there warned her about the wave of injuries they were treating. Now, seven years into Edmonton’s e-scooter program, she sees those injuries firsthand.
Risky behaviours contribute
Bristow noted that risky behaviours, such as riding without helmets or on roadways, exacerbate the severity of injuries. The 2025 study highlighted that head injuries are common, and many riders do not wear helmets despite recommendations. Edmonton has seen calls for better regulation, including designated parking spaces and increased safety campaigns.
