Stevie Go Go, the tuk-tuk tourism business started by Sarnia’s Stephen Devlin, is packing up and leaving for greener pastures after several difficulties with local authorities. Devlin’s business is planning to move to Saint John, New Brunswick.
Stevie Go Go’s appearance on Dragon’s Den, the CBC show where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to savvy and wealthy investors, aired at the end of October. On the show, he impressed Brian Scudamore, CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, and made a deal with him for an investment of one hundred thousand dollars.
However, after Stevie Go Go received several citations and was pulled off the road by Sarnia Police in August, Scudamore decided to withdraw his investment. Even though Devlin had already passed the due diligence phase of the deal, “they were not in a position to be fighting lawyers as soon as they invested," he says.
As part of his deal with the Dragon’s Den investors, Devlin quit his Coast Guard job to devote himself full-time to his business venture. With his tuk-tuks off the road, he had no job or investment. “It was a dark period,” he says.
The underlying issue has been the classification and relevant regulations governing Stevie Go Go’s unique vehicles. Tuk-tuks, also known as auto-rickshaws, are three-wheeled, open-air motorized vehicles, with a driver seat up front and room for up to six passengers in the back. They are very popular worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia, but they are quite new to Canada. Stevie Go Go is the only business of its kind in the country.
Stephen Devlin had been working with the Coast Guard for years before he started his business. On a vacation to Portugal, he first encountered tuk-tuks sharing the roads with trucks, buses, and scooters.
“From that day forward, I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” he says. Devlin began to research tuk-tuks online and planned to bring them to Sarnia, eventually importing three from overseas. After they were shipped, Devlin, with friends and family assembled them in his driveway.
Devlin registered his tuk-tuks under an MTO (Ministry of Transportation Ontario) pilot program for low-speed vehicles. Working with the City of Sarnia and the Village of Point Edward, Stevie Go Go was able to get a bylaw passed, that allowed the business to operate in the downtown area on certain streets and along the waterfront.
Problems arose when the wording of the pilot program changed after Devlin had enrolled. “The first statement is ‘Must have four wheels.’ It never said that before,” he tells us. “Why would I buy a three-wheeled tuk-tuk if the opening line says it must have four wheels.”
Devlin was pulled over by Sarnia Police for being improperly registered just before the Labour Day parade of 2023, where he was planning on giving rides to retirees. Afterward, the Ministry asked for their license plates back and Devlin was no longer allowed to be registered.
“I was dumbfounded by that,” he says.
Since his vehicles were now idle, Devlin cancelled his insurance. “The Sarnia Police interpreted it as my insurance company had revoked my insurance, which is not the case.”
Devlin worked all winter with MTO to come up with a solution. “There were no categories for me to be in.” Then he discovered that Princess Auto was selling an e-trike, a pedal-assisted electric three-wheeled vehicle that could be operated on roads without registration or insurance. “The only difference is that mine carries passengers and weighs a little more,” he says.
Devlin presented this to the MTO, and they told him he could not be registered in Ontario. However, they also told him that if he had insurance for himself and his passengers he could operate as he saw fit.
“So, I started doing that,” he says. In 2024, Stevie Go Go operated from July to late August until he was pulled over and issued several tickets. “But the tickets contradict each other,” he says. “One was for not having a helmet on a motorcycle and another was for not properly registering a motor vehicle. So, which is it?”
As he fights these tickets in court, Devlin has found a lot of support throughout the community. “The people of Sarnia have been amazing, and the amount of emotional support has been overwhelming,” he says.
Lawyer George Vandenberg has taken on his case pro bono. Michele Stokely and Councillor Chrissy McRoberts have both been advocates on his behalf. MPP Bob Bailey has promised to work with MTO to find a solution and create a category that Stevie Go Go can legally operate within.
In a statement to the Journal, Chrissy McRoberts says, “It's unfortunate that the sustainability of this electric vehicle based business will now be held up by the Ontario government. If the federal and provincial governments are driving the electric vehicle need, then policies, protocols, and laws need to fit the municipalities’ needs. Our downtown core, as well as Centennial and Canatara Park, would benefit greatly with Stevie Go Go's shuttle. It brings people together, builds a stronger tourism town, employs several locals, and adds a little joy to our city.”
“I really want Sarnia to work,” says Devlin, but he has limited time and energy to attend meetings and fight the necessary battles. His focus now is on establishing himself in New Brunswick.
After he was pulled over, Devlin was contacted by friends and a regional growth agency in New Brunswick called Envision Saint John who encouraged him to move out there. “They have welcomed me with open arms,” he says.
Devlin laments that he was not able to have a productive working relationship with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton. He tells us that he has gone to them many times over the past two and a half years asking for resources, help with grants, or promotion of his business but got little to no support. “I basically begged them for help, and nothing happened.”
In a statement to the Journal, Mark Perrin, executive director for Tourism Sarnia-Lambton said “Tourism Sarnia-Lambton staff were very pleased to meet with Stevie Go Go several times over the past few years to review his business ideas and support him with insight, possible grant funding opportunities, as well as partnership and provincial ministry contacts for him to connect with. Stevie is a great guy, and we are hopeful that his tuk-tuk business can work to be compliant with provincial regulations to continue offering a unique service to both locals and tourists visiting our Sarnia-Lambton region.”
In New Brunswick, Devlin does not anticipate the same problems he experienced here, as they do not have provincial laws regulating low-speed vehicles. Devlin secured a new investment with a silent partner that will enable him to make the move out east. Working with tourist destinations in and around Saint John, the cruise lines, ferries, restaurants, hotels, and pubs, Devlin anticipates growing his fleet of tuk-tuks.
Stevie Go Go also plans to branch out with a related venture called Stevie Fly Fly which will operate a 16-passenger shuttle bus connecting the Saint John area to the local airport.
Despite his excitement, Stephen Devlin regrets that he will be away from his family who are staying in Sarnia. “My kid plays high level basketball, senior for Northern, and I’m going to miss all of it,” he says.
Meanwhile, Devlin awaits the court decisions over the thousands of dollars in fines he is facing. He remains hopeful they will go in his favour. “Once that’s all done, I can move east without a cloud over my head.”