Title
Shared Micromobility Program Update and Potential Expansion
Description
This report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee with an update on the Shared Micromobility Program from Jan. 20 to Nov. 30, 2023, and a plan for a potential Shared Micromobility Program expansion.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix Street Transportation Department (Streets) launched a Shared Micromobility Program (Micromobility Program) to replace the Downtown Shared Electric Scooter Pilot Program (Pilot Program) on Jan. 20, 2023. The Micromobility Program built upon the Pilot Program by expanding the program boundaries and the types of vehicles available. Additionally, the Micromobility Program used a competitive procurement process to select two vendors to provide shared micromobility services in designated operating areas. Moving from a permitting process to a City contract allowed the Micromobility Program to introduce a number of regulations that ensures the Micromobility Program better serves the community. Namely, vendors must deploy 15 percent of the fleet in equity zones, provide accessible vehicles and traditional bikes in addition to electric scooters (e-scooters) and electric bikes (e-bikes), and deploy bikes (traditional and electric) as a minimum 20 percent of their fleet.
When the Micromobility Program was approved by City Council, staff committed to provide a six-month update to the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee. Following this update on Sept. 20, 2023, the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee asked staff to develop a plan to potentially extend the Micromobility Program Citywide across all 519 square miles of the City.
Micromobility Program Performance
Micromobility Program users took a total of 337,877 trips between Jan. 20 through Nov. 30, 2023. There was an overall growth in ridership in the first half of the year with the program supporting alternate mobility options for residents and visitors in Phoenix during Super Bowl events in February with a total of 34,731 trips. There was a gradual dip that occurred during the hotter summer months from May through August; however, the number of trips began to rise again in September through the end of November as the temperatures decreased.
A key metric for evaluating the performance of a shared micromobility system is the number of trips per vehicle per day, or the utilization rate (UR). In the 2022 Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report, the North American Bikeshare Association reported an average of 2.1 UR for traditional bikes and e-bikes, and an average of 1.2 UR for e-scooters. The average UR for all vehicle types is 1.5. From Jan. 20 through Nov. 30, 2023, the overall UR for the City's Micromobility Program has been 0.87. For e-bikes, the average UR was 0.33, while e-scooters had an average UR of 0.91.
Micromobility Program Potential Updates
The Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee asked staff to create a plan for assessing program updates, including expanded program boundaries, traditional bicycles available in the right-of-way, additional vendors, 24/7 operating hours, and public engagement efforts to inform any potential updates. To determine feasibility of an expanded micromobility program, staff reviewed existing conditions within the city and micromobility programs throughout the United States. In addition, staff performed early public outreach by facilitating a public survey, a virtual Citywide meeting, and an in-person meeting to collect initial feedback from the community on micromobility. Staff also met with the vendors to gather an initial understanding of their staffing and expansion capabilities. This cursory outreach and vendor discussions where used to formulate a more complete draft plan to examine the possibility of expanding Citywide. The below is a high level summary of considerations for program updates and strategic expansion to other parts of the City along with a proposed outreach plan to discuss expansion possibilities throughout the City.
Infrastructure Considerations
The current Micromobility Program (Attachment A) consists of downtown Phoenix, the area east of downtown to 46th Street, and south of downtown to Dobbins Road. There are bikeways in the existing program area; however, Phoenix’s bikeway system (Attachment B) does not currently connect to all areas of the city. In places that do not have connected bike lane networks, Micromobility Program utilization may be low due to lack of connections to destinations. A 2022 study on shared micromobility in the United States and Canada, performed by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), highlights the connection between micromobility ridership and high-quality bike lanes. More people utilize micromobility options when cities invest in quality protected bike lanes that ensure safe access to key high density/intensity nodes.
Transit Considerations
The North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA) released their 2022 Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report where they found that 23 percent of all shared micromobility trips were for the purpose of connecting to transit. In addition, according to the 2019 Origin and Destination study conducted by Valley Metro, 73 percent of riders access light rail stations by walking, while 14 percent of riders bike to light rail stations. The correlation between public transit utilization and micromobility users indicates increased demand for micromobility in areas with high transit use.
The light rail system has the highest levels of transit ridership in Phoenix in comparison to other bus routes in the city. There are several bus routes that have robust levels of ridership throughout the city (Attachment C). The current Micromobility Program connects to several bus routes and the light rail system. Bus stops with more robust ridership levels are located just north of the existing program boundary.
User Characteristic Considerations
Staff reviewed households that had one or no vehicles available according to American Community Survey 2021 Five-Year Estimates. There are a few census tracts throughout the City that have less access to a vehicle, namely portions of west Phoenix, within the Deer Valley Village Employment/Airport node (DVN), and scattered around central parts of the city (Attachment D). The DVN is a large census tract because relatively few people live within the tract as it is principally an area of employment. The Census data and large tract size make it appear that it is a good area for expansion. However, better analysis of the data suggests that it is not because of the few number of homes and dispersed commerce park type of employment in the area. Overall this data is useful to indicate areas that have one characteristic that might indicate increased ridership utilization in those areas. This is because households that have less access to a car are more likely to use alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit or micromobility options.
Vendor Capacity for Expansion
Based on smart phone application pick-up data provided from the vendors, there is limited demand outside of the existing Micromobility Program boundary. Demand is especially prominent directly north of the existing program boundary (Attachment E).
Due to the low utilization rate and staffing shortages, the current vendors have concerns about expansion of the existing Micromobility Program boundaries throughout the City. Based on these challenges, vendors have requested modifications to the program requirements. Spin and Lime sent a letter to the Street Transportation Department dated Nov. 1, 2023, with requested program adjustments. The letter (Attachment F) requests 24/7 operations, reduced equity zone deployment, and waivers on trip fees to the City.
Based on program size and utilization, there would need to be an increase in utilization and consistent ridership levels to increase the number of operational staff and maintain program sustainability. The vendors recommend a gradual expansion of the service area to the north where there are strong indications of unmet user demand. They propose in expansion areas to launch with a limited number of parking corrals to test demand. As demand increases, the number of parking corrals would increase in the expanded area.
Bird Global, Spin’s parent company, filed for bankruptcy in December 2023. The company announced a financial restructuring process aimed to strengthen the company for long-term and sustainable growth. Spin plans to operate as usual during this process, maintaining the same level of service and commitments to the City of Phoenix. This will not impact the Micromobility Program under the current or possible expanded boundary. It will likely make them and other vendors more cautious about the expansion cost impacts to their company.
Number of Operating Vendors
Currently, the Micromobility Program has two vendors, which meets industry best practices for the size of our market. In a statement on micromobility regulation best practices released on May 15, 2023, by micromobility vendors Lime, Spin, Superpedestrian, and Bird, the Phoenix market was praised for having the appropriate number of vendors as to not over-saturate the market. A maximum of two vendors is the right amount for 1,000-2,000 scooters and is appropriate for providing healthy market competition, customer choice, and overall administrative duties for a city like Phoenix. Currently, the Micromobility Program has an average of 1,251 vehicles deployed in the right-of-way.
24/7 Operating Hours
Current operating hours for the Micromobility Program are between 5 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. daily. These operating hours were selected to prevent people from operating the vehicles while intoxicated. Vendors are interested in providing 24/7 service in the City to allow for an increase in utilization of the program between the hours of 12 a.m. and 4:59 a.m. Vendors have expressed that ridership could increase, specifically in summer months during curfew hours when the weather is cooler.
Both vendors use advanced technology on their designated smart phone applications that can assist in identifying intoxication using a sobriety test before unlocking a vehicle. The sobriety tests require potential users to complete puzzles within the smart phone application that test their coordination and reflex time. Cities such as Denver and Oklahoma City use this technology and operate without a curfew.
Bicycles
The program requirement is for 20 percent of the fleet to be bicycles, either e-bikes or traditional pedal bikes. When Streets established the Micromobility Program, the Department sought to ensure a wide variety of vehicles were available. Vendors were asked to provide e-scooters, e-bikes, traditional bikes, and accessible vehicles. Both selected vendors (Lime and Spin) committed to providing e-bikes along with e-scooters in the right-of way.
Spin committed to providing traditional bikes through a library system, and Lime committed to providing traditional bikes in the right-of-way and through a library system. Lime has since asked to provide traditional bikes through a library system as well due to concerns around theft of traditional bikes.
Spin launched their library rental system in fall of 2023. The Spin library system allows users to reserve a traditional bike online at least 24 hours in advance. Vehicles are delivered to the user within the boundary area, and the vehicles are dropped off and picked up between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Users must register with the Spin smart phone application, but there will be no cost to the user.
Lime is still experiencing delays in launching their library rental system for traditional bicycles due to extended delivery times and device shortages. The Lime library system will allow users to reserve a traditional bike or accessibility vehicle online at least 24 hours in advance. Vehicles will be delivered to the user within the boundary area, and the vehicles will be picked up from the users after 24 hours. Users must register with the Lime smart phone application, but there will be no cost to the user.
While the library system does not allow users to rent traditional bikes in the right-of way, it allows users to reserve traditional bikes for a longer period of time at no cost. This approach mitigates against theft, while also increasing access to traditional bikes by making them free to check out and use.
It is relevant to note the overall demand for traditional bicycles in the micromobility market is low. The 2022 Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report released by the North American Bikeshare Association states that e-bikes are ridden 56 percent more than pedal bikes in systems that have both options. Cities, such as Minneapolis and Houston, have also struggled to maintain and operate traditional bikeshare with the rise of operational costs and increased alternative mode options like e-scooters and have discontinued their bikeshare programs. Many cities are transitioning micromobility fleet options to provide more e-bikes and e-scooters over traditional bicycles. To provide traditional bicycles in a bikeshare model, this would typically require a city to provide vendor funding in order to provide this service.
Peer City Review
Staff reviewed data and met with some staff from peer cities, including Austin, San Diego, and Seattle, to discuss their designated micromobility programs. Topics discussed included program history, utilization rates, program hours, vendors, sidewalk riding, and bikes. The cities were selected by performing a peer city analysis that compared population size, city land size, types of vehicles available, number of devices, and program model (Attachment G). A key metric used to select cities was the People for Bikes rankings. This non-profit organization ranks cities based on how bicycle friendly their infrastructure ranks. Phoenix ranks 28/100 in their score and is number 456 out of 1,484 cities for bicycle-friendly infrastructure in the United States. San Diego and Austin were selected as they have similar scores to Phoenix as well as similar City development characteristics. Seattle has a higher score but was still compared to the peer cities for a contrasting reference and similar vendors.
While Austin and San Diego have similar People for Bikes rankings, their utilization rates are significantly higher than the City of Phoenix. All three cities generally sustained a utilization rate of at least one. Dips in utilization during the year occurring during times of the year with extreme temperatures like the cold and snow. In addition, bike utilization rates were lower than e-scooter utilization rates for all three cities.
The City of Austin was the only city in this group that offers a bikeshare system that is owned by the City of Austin and serviced through CapMetro, their public transit authority. The service is operated by a local non-profit, Bike Share of Austin. Both San Diego and Seattle had bikeshare programs in the past but were replaced by shared micromobility.
Program hours varied between cities. Austin and Seattle operate 24/7 hours, while San Diego has a curfew between midnight and 2 a.m. Micromobility programs are rapidly evolving in technology and program policies. It is imperative to learn from peer cities on their approaches to this developing industry.
Community Engagement
Staff conducted community engagement opportunities to collect preliminary public feedback regarding shared micromobility program updates. A Citywide online survey (Attachment H) collected public opinion from the community and was open between Oct. 18 and Nov. 30. The survey was shared with all City Council offices, through a Streets media release, social media, and media listservs. Six media organizations also shared the survey on their own mediums, including KJZZ, KTAR, azcentral, Phoenix Business Journal, Conkite News, and 12News.
Streets hosted a virtual town hall on Oct. 23, 2023. Staff presented information regarding the Micromobility Program and answered questions from attendees about the program and expansion. Staff also presented at a public meeting on the McDowell Road Revitalization project and micromobility hosted by Council District 4 on Nov. 8.
Survey Results
A total of 309 people took the survey and over 300 comments were received across the survey questions. Of the 309 respondents, 101 respondents (33 percent) have used the program versus 208 respondents (67 percent) who have not.
A primary comparison in data responses is between respondents who have used the Micromobility Program versus respondents who have not used the program. 84 percent of respondents who have used the program are interested in seeing the program expand into their neighborhoods. 77 percent of respondents who have not used the program are not interested in seeing micromobility in their neighborhoods. Individuals who have used the Micromobility Program are more likely to support boundary expansion.
92 public comments spoke in favor of micromobility expansion. Many public comments expressed desire for expansion to reach north of the existing boundary. There were 48 public comments expressing general opposition to the Micromobility Program. Primary public concern involved the need for more bicycle infrastructure and concern of micromobility vehicles blocking the right-of-way.
Staff created maps comparing locations in Phoenix where locations are interested in seeing the Micromobility Program in their neighborhoods. "Yes" responses for micromobility expansion shows high demand directly north of the existing program area, including midtown, uptown, and surrounding areas. These results align with public comment and vendor smart phone application pick-up data (Attachment I). "No" responses for micromobility expansion are spread throughout Phoenix with many responses from zip codes outside of the City and in Ahwatukee (Attachment J). Of the overall survey responses, 193 people provided zip codes in Phoenix. 114 of these people are interested in expansion over 79 people who are opposed to expansion.
Micromobility Program Recommended Next Steps
Following research and consideration for current program performance, Phoenix's existing conditions, boundary expansion, vendor operations, bicycles, operational hours, peer cities, and public engagement efforts, staff formed a draft plan for program updates. The following is an overview of this plan, including future public engagement efforts and recommendations for the future of the Micromobility Program in Phoenix. Staff anticipates coming back to the TIP Subcommittee after the future public engagement meetings with revisions based upon that input and further discussions with vendors.
Boundary Expansion
The early public outreach provides guidance on where Micromobility Program demand may be in the City in addition to current program considerations. Based on preliminary community feedback and feasibility, staff recommends further consideration for program expansion in uptown, midtown, and immediately surrounding areas. These areas of the City are connected to transit and have connected bicycle infrastructure to support micromobility. These areas are also connected to the existing program boundary, which will allow our vendors to maintain the program operationally with more ease.
Feasibility Assessment
Staff will review existing areas of demand north of the existing boundary to ensure the proposed area is feasible for expansion. This includes a review of existing bicycle infrastructure, areas of economic development, no- or one-vehicle households, transit ridership, and density. Staff will also perform an equity analysis and update the existing equity zones in the city based on updated census data. This assessment would occur in tandem with public engagement efforts.
Public Engagement Plan
Simultaneous to the feasibility assessment, staff will perform public engagement. Streets will host an initial virtual public meeting to present the potential expansion process and collect initial feedback from attendees. The virtual meeting will provide an opportunity for staff to share upcoming events that would occur throughout spring and summer 2024. Staff will release a public survey at the time of the virtual public meeting for general feedback that will be open throughout the public engagement process. Following the virtual meeting, Streets will host a neighborhood leadership meeting. Staff will reach out to community leaders in the area to understand community sentiment towards micromobility in neighborhoods. Staff will provide flyers and information to neighborhood leaders that they can share with residents regarding micromobility expansion, public engagement events, and opportunities to provide input.
Staff will connect with the public by attending relevant public events and performing micromobility demonstrations in the potential expansion areas. Staff will work to identify events and locations to collect public feedback with the community engagement team. Tabling opportunities will provide attendees with the opportunity to leave public comments and share concerns with staff regarding program expansion. Staff will work with micromobility vendors to perform demonstrations of micromobility vehicles and provide opportunities for the public to test the vehicles. Additional public feedback on micromobility corrals will be collected through a virtual map and through the public survey. Staff will work to develop a map that can be accessed at any time through the Phoenix.gov/Scooters website and at tabling events. The public can share locations on the map where there may be interest in placing parking corrals. Overall public engagement will provide staff with feedback in understanding community needs and concerns. That data would be assembled into the final draft plan and shared with the vendors to ascertain their ability to service those areas and an expansion timeline developed at that time.
Corral Location Assessment
Following the feasibility assessment and public engagement, staff will work with the vendors to review corral locations that are feasible before expanding the program into the area. Corral locations will be based on public input, infrastructure feasibility, and community destinations such as housing areas, grocery stores, and restaurants.
Implementation
Once the program boundaries and corral locations are determined, the expansion would be implemented based on availability of vendor staffing and vehicles. Staff will perform the administrative change of increasing the vehicle cap to be in proportion to the expansion of the existing area. For example, if the expanded area for the Micromobility Program increases by 20 percent, then staff will increase the vehicle cap by 20 percent to accommodate the expansion.
Vendors require time to install corrals in locations throughout the City and increase the number of staff members to maintain operations for the program. Staff will work with vendors to ensure a reasonable rate of implementation based on staffing levels.
Number of Operating Vendors
To align with best practices and industry standards, Phoenix should add a third vendor as the Micromobility Program grows and utilization increases. A procurement process to expand the number of vendors should be initiated once the program boundary has expanded to include 500,000 residents, the average number of vehicles deployed per day is over 2,000, and the program has maintained an average UR of 1.5 or higher across a 12-month period.
Bicycles
Research of shared traditional bicycle systems in peer cities showed these systems require significant government funding to support ongoing operations. Staff will continue to work with existing vendors to provide more e-bikes in the system, and to promote the launch of traditional bicycle rentals through the library system with Lime and Spin.
24/7 Operating Hours
Staff recommends proceeding with the administrative change of 24/7 operations for the Micromobility Program for a 12-month trial period. Staff will also work with the Phoenix Police Department to allocate Vehicular Homicide Unit (VHU) crash reports that involve scooters between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. These reports will assist staff in reviewing micromobility safety during the trial period. Staff will assess these results, utilization rates, and ridership trends at the end of the 12-month period before reimplementing the curfew or maintaining 24/7 service. Staff will ensure the vendors activate the smartphone sobriety test before implementing this change.
Sidewalk Riding
Forty-six percent of survey respondents either agree or strongly agree with riding micromobility vehicles on the sidewalk when a bicycle lane is not present. Public comments indicate a desire for riding micromobility vehicles on sidewalks on a busy road and when a bicycle lane is not present. Public comments also indicate concern for pedestrians when micromobility vehicles are being used on sidewalks. Staff recommends further discussions on this topic as part of the planned outreach. As part of the final plan recommendations staff may propose ordinance language that permits sidewalk riding with additional restrictions for future consideration by City Council. The ordinance language would restrict sidewalk riding in downtown Phoenix and may look at other areas of the City also.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee:
- Was provided information on the proposed Comprehensive Micromobility Program on Oct. 20, 2021;
- Recommended approval to issue a solicitation for the program on April 20, 2022, by a vote of 4-0;
- Recommended approval to amend Phoenix City Code to establish the Shared Micromobility Program on May 17, 2023, by a unanimous vote; and
- Was provided information on the first six months of the Micromobility Program on Sept. 20, 2023.
The Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee:
- Was provided an update on the Shared Micromobility Shared Revenue Contract Solicitation on Dec. 13, 2022; and
- Was provided an update on utilization of electric scooters and electric bikes in the Shared Micromobility Program on June 28, 2023.
The City Council approved:
- The Pilot Program (Ordinance G-6602) on June 26, 2019;
- A Pilot Program extension (Ordinance G-6676) on Feb. 19, 2020;
- A sunset provision extension (Ordinance G-6772) on Dec. 2, 2020;
- A Pilot Program extension and a sunset provision extension (Ordinance G-6823) on March 17, 2021;
- A Pilot Program extension, a sunset provision extension, and the allowance of electric bicycles on public streets Citywide (Ordinance G-6967) on March 2, 2022;
- The issuance of a Request for Proposals to operate a Comprehensive Micromobility Program in Phoenix on May 11, 2022; and
- The award of the Revenue Contract Solicitation to two micromobility vendors to operate shared micromobility services in Phoenix on Jan. 14, 2022.
Location
Council Districts: 7 and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Alan Stephenson and the Street Transportation Department.