E-bike renters may be entitled to PST refund after overcharging: CBC report

If you’ve rented an e-bike or an e-scooter in Coquitlam, you may have paid more tax than you should have.

E-mobility rental companies Neuron and Lime have each been charging customers Provincial Sales Tax despite being exempt from PST, according to a recent CBC story.

There seemed to be, “a bit of a gap in everyone’s understanding,” explained Coquitlam transportation engineer Doug McLeod.

“I understood that this PST issue was definitely something that was due to some lack of clarity from the [provincial] requirements,” he said.

Speaking to CBC, a spokesperson for Lime confirmed the company had been charging PST while citing “unclear language” from the province.

To learn about applying for a PST refund, click here.

The news comes as Coquitlam works with the providers to cut down on carelessly parked e-bikes and e-scooters.

Speaking to the Dispatch this summer, Lelainia Lloyd described the challenge of piloting her wheelchair around scooters left on city sidewalks.

“Everywhere I go, they’re just dumped all over the city,” Lloyd said. “And I’m lucky, because I have a power chair. If I had a manual chair, it would be that much harder.”

Earlier this year, Coun. Craig Hodge to express doubts about sticking with Lime and Neuron due to the parking issue.

“Unless I see dramatic improvement I won’t be supporting the extension of the service agreement with the service providers,” Hodge said when discussing the issue last spring.

Both companies are contracted until Dec. 31, 2024.

To remedy the parking problem, the city has been slowly expanding the number of docks outside the Town Centre area, according to McLeod.

“We’re finding is that there’s a significantly increased compliance with those because now you have a very obvious area where you can go and park,” he said.

Given the number of devices parked at the Coquitlam/Port Moody border, McLeod said the city would consider partnering with the City of Arts to give users the ability to pass between the municipalities.

“Should Port Moody reach out to us, we’d definitely be interested in working with them,” he said.

Earlier this year, Port Moody council decided to sign on to the province’s Electric Kick Scooter Pilot program, bringing clarity to what had been a legal grey area.