The cities of Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, and Seaside are looking into adopting policies to regulate dockless bike/scooter shared mobility programs and have requested assistance from the Transportation Agency with developing recommended policies and a sample ordinance.
Back in May 2018, the cities of Salinas and Seaside were moving forward with initiating a bike share program with the Beijing-based company Ofo. However, later that year, Ofo announced a reduction in operations, including withdrawal from most U.S. cities. Local jurisdictions are now looking to other bike share operators, including companies that provide electric scooter share programs. California State Univeristy, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) has partnered with the San Francisco based smart mobility company, Lime, to bring dockless electric scooters to campus. Over 60,000 rides have been taken since the program started in September 2018, .
TAMC staff researched the issues that other cities (including the City of Santa Monica, City of Fort Lauderdale, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) faced and noted what worked well. Staff then presented and collected input on the draft recommended policies and sample ordinance at the February meetings of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Advisory Committee and the Technical Advisory Committee.
Local governments across the country have learned that dockless bike/scooter share provides a significant opportunity for:
- Complementing transit service overcoming first/last mile transit connections;
- Replacing short vehicle trips with a clean emissions transportation option;
- Using a low-stress technology to introduce a new audience of residents to active transportation options; and
- Encourage city leaders to invest in bicycle/scooter infrastructure to support growing demand for bicycle/scooter mobility.
Along with the vast potential of dockless bike/scooter share, local governments have identified key challenges, namely:
- Ensuring equitable access to shared mobility technologies across all neighborhoods;
- Encouraging appropriate rider behavior;
- Maintaining an orderly system and keeping pedestrian pathways clear; and
- A lack of connected bicycle/scooter infrastructure, forcing many users to ride on sidewalks.
Based on recent pilot programs, case studies, and surveys, three key practice areas emerged illuminating how cities are putting policy into action and setting themselves up for successful management of dockless shared mobility programs:
- Enforcement of vendor operation
- Caps in vehicle numbers and number of vendors
- Data sharing that is standardized and in real-time
The recommended policies (attached) provide a general guidance on key challenges and opportunities and propose solutions and performance measures based on best practices from the cities and agencies mentioned above. The sample ordinance (attached) provides a template for local jurisdictions to customize based on their specific needs.