Introduction
Over the past few years, shared micromobility services have rapidly proliferated in cities across the country, transforming the mobility landscape of cities. These new mobility services, such as bikes, e-bikes, scooters, e-scooters and more, offer a wealth of potential benefits to residents, users and our communities overall, but will need to be thoughtfully managed to ensure that the benefits of these services accrue equitably to everyone in our communities.
In the past, mobility options and services were traditionally established by local governments through competitive procurement processes and public-private partnerships. They were difficult and costly to establish, manage and expand. These partnerships and contracts were developed by cities and typically based on achieving specific outcomes and aligning with their long-term goals.
That isn’t always the case now.
Since the introduction of the first domestic dockless bikeshare system in Seattle in the summer of 2017 and electric scooters in Santa Monica later that fall, many new mobility services have often launched completely independent of local governments and without contracts, permits, or business licenses. While there have certainly been growing pains, it’s only been a little over a year and there is still much to learn. Strong, proactive governance—in partnership with operators—and educating users and the general public about these services, things have improved and these services have been integrated into our local transportation networks. But, it’s already apparent that these services offer real promise for contributing to city goals related to equity, access to jobs and services, climate, and more.
Because these new services are no longer directly procured by local governments in most cases, cities have had to rapidly develop new permitting and licensing regulations to maximize and harness their positive transformative potential to increase access, safety and economic opportunity for all residents while also reducing congestion, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The rapid pace with which new transportation technologies are being introduced and iterated highlights the need to create flexible regulatory frameworks that can be applied broadly across new mobility models as they develop, whatever the technology might be. Cities will need to create adaptive, yet consistent, processes that will help them integrate new technologies into their communities and contribute toward their long-term outcomes. Helping cities do so is the intent of this playbook.
How was this playbook created?
What is the playbook?
This playbook is intended to be a living, breathing and continuously updated site that explores the core components of a comprehensive shared micromobility policy for local governments to consider. The playbook is divided into eight policy sections:
- General Provisions
- Operations
- Equipment & Safety
- Parking & Street Design
- Equity
- Communications & Community Engagement
- Data
- Metrics
Each section identifies key policy areas to reflect on, highlights the various options in each policy area, reviews the pros and cons of each level of action, and provides case studies of cities that have enacted certain policies. Each section also contains key considerations when deliberating policy options along with recommendations.
How was it developed?
The playbook is a result of work by Transportation for America, the participant cities in T4America’s Smart Cities Collaborative as well as industry stakeholders including Lime. During a two-day meeting in September 2018, participants from these cities identified key policy components, discussed the opportunities and impacts of various policy choices and shared their personal experiences with managing these services in their communities. The playbook is a result of that collaboration, additional conversations with cities across the country working on regulations, input from Lime, and research conducted by T4America. The Playbook also builds on the effort by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and their member cities to develop their Guidelines for the Regulation and Management of Shared Active Transportation.
T4America will continue to refine and expand the playbook as we learn more about the ongoing results of the efforts to manage these services and ultimately the impact that shared micromobility is having in our communities. To aid us in this effort, if you think something is missing, or if there are other policy alternatives to consider, please share your experience with us at [email protected].
Who is Transportation for America?
T4America is a national nonprofit that supports a transportation system that safely, affordably and conveniently connects people of all means and all abilities to jobs, services and opportunity through multiple modes of travel with minimal impact to communities and the environment. We accomplish this through research, advocacy, technical assistance and thought leadership.
