05.09.22 TAB Agenda 7A2 - MicromobilityCITY OF BOULDER
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD AGENDA ITEM
MEETING DATE: May 9, 2022
AGENDA ITEM:
Staff briefing regarding Shared Micromobility Program Update
STAFF:
Natalie Stiffler, Interim Director of Transportation and Mobility
Valerie Watson, Transportation Planning Manager
Chris Hagelin, Principal Transportation Planner
Dave “DK” Kemp, Senior Transportation Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Following the direction of City Council on September 15, 2020, the City of Boulder’s shared
micromobility program was developed to enable e-bike and e-scooter vendors to operate in the
city. Subsequently, the Transportation & Mobility (T&M) department conducted a competitive
Request for Proposals process to select vendors to provide these shared micromobility services
for the Boulder community. Specific programmatic goals and objectives were developed through
a shared visioning process with community stakeholders. As a result of the RFP process, the
vendors BCycle LLC (e-bikes), and Lime (e-scooters) were selected to provide these services,
which officially began on August 18, 2021.
Since then, the Shared Micromobility Program has logged 272,622 total trips and 492,680 total
miles (e-bikes and e-scooters combined) E-bikes accounted for 215,828 total trips and 438.130
total miles, while e-scooters accounted for 56,794 total trips and 54,550 total miles. The increase
in number of e-bike trips coincides with both the conversion of the fleet from traditional pedal
bikes to electric-assist and BCycle’s integrated student membership program at CU Boulder. It’s
fair to assume that e-scooter trips and miles would be higher; however, Lime has been working
within a limited area as part of the pilot program to test the viability of e-scooters in the
community.
Transportation & Mobility staff is actively monitoring the program and coordinating with the
vendors on a regular basis. Staff is collecting on-going quantitative and qualitative data to
analyze and inform an evaluation report after the first year of operations (August 2021-August
2022). Specific evaluation criteria contained within the body of this memo have been identified
to evaluate the Shared Micromobility Program for both e-bikes and e-scooters.
Following the completion of the evaluation report, staff will conduct community engagement
outreach to community stakeholders, including boards and commissions. The report and the
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results of the community engagement will inform staff’s recommendation to perform any
changes to the overall Shared Micromobility Program.
Staff will present the results and staff’s recommendation to the Transportation Advisory Board
and City Council in Q4 2022. Based on TAB and Council’s input, any modifications to the
program will occur after January 2023, which may include an amendment to the respective
service agreements.
This memo serves as an update to TAB on the program operations to date and provides a concise
background and history of the program to contextualize the evaluation effort and next steps for
the program.
BACKGROUND
At the September 15, 2020 City Council meeting, council provided direction to include shared e-
scooter devices, along with shared, electric-assist bicycles to comprise the city’s Shared
Micromobility Program. Council added the requirement that shared e-scooters should only be
offered east of 28th Street (US36) as a pilot for future council consideration to potentially expand
the service area citywide. - Attachment A.
At the October 27, 2020 City Council Study Session, council supported staff’s recommendation
to conduct a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process to receive and evaluate proposals
from shared micromobility operators and to select an operator(s) to provide services for the
Boulder community. Staff convened several community stakeholders to develop a vision for the
Shared Micromobility Program goals, objectives and scope of work. Stakeholders included
members of the Transportation Advisory Board, CU Boulder, Boulder County, Boulder
Chamber, Community Cycles, Shared Paths Boulder, Boulder Housing Partners, Boulder
County’s Mobility for All program, Boulder Transportation Connections and Commuting
Solutions.
The City of Boulder’s goal for the Shared Micromobility Program is to:
Provide community members safe, equitable and sustainable forms of transportation to
improve quality of life, provide connections to transit and key destinations; and replace motor
vehicle trips to reduce traffic congestion and transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
To work toward achieving this goal, the following Shared Micromobility Program (SMP)
objectives and performance measures were identified through the RFP development process.
Evaluating the results of the program will inform near-term program decision making points to
achieve optimization.
SMP Objectives Baseline 2023 Performance Measure
1) Build upon the success of
Boulder’s previous bike share
program
2020 – 110,000 trips
440,000 trips
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2) Expand the quantity of available
shared e-bikes and e-scooters by
2023
2020 – 300 bikes
500-700 devices (e-bikes and
e-scooters) in service
3) Demonstrates on-going safety
improvements for users of shared
devices
Establish baseline number of
severe crash reports in
2021-2022
Compare number of severe
crashes in 2023 to 2022 – 0
is the goal.
4) Provides its services in an
equitable manner by developing and
promoting a program that is easily
accessible and affordable for
traditionally underserved community
members.
Establish baseline use in
2021-2022
Compare use in 2023 to 2022
5) Expand city-wide accessibility to
shared micromobility devices
2020 – 45 B-Cycle docking
stations
Compare 2023 accessibility
(areas of Boulder served) to
2020
Staff concluded the RFP process following the proposal review and interview process and
selected two vendors to provide shared micromobility services:
• BCycle, LLC – BCycle, LLC is a subsidiary of the parent company, Trek Bicycles.
BCycle, LLC is a private company who manufactures the BCycle system equipment and
operates in several cities across the United States. Boulder Bike Share, the non-profit
organization who previously operated the BCycle system is now defunct. Staff from the
Boulder Bike Share organization were hired by BCycle, LLC in August 2021 to operate
the local bike share system.
• Neutron Holdings, Inc. DBA Lime - Formerly LimeBike, Lime is a transportation
company based in San Francisco, USA. It runs electric scooters, electric bikes, normal
pedal bikes, electric mopeds, and car sharing systems in various cities around the world.
Lime is currently authorized to operate electric e-scooters in a limited-service area in
Boulder (east of 28th Street) per council direction.
Individual operating agreements between the City of Boulder and BCycle, LLC and Lime were
signed in August 2021 and are valid for a period of one year with an option to extend up to four
additional years.
An instrumental component of these agreements is the city collection of revenue from BCycle
and Lime through an annual license fee and a per ride fee of fifteen cents ($0.15). These fees are
returned to the city’s Shared Micromobility Program to pay for expenses related to the signing,
striping, and marking of roadways, educational and promotional outreach, equity programs, and
if needed, staff time. The City of Boulder currently does not pay any subsidies to vendors to
provide micromobility services.
Below is list of policy actions taken regarding the development of the shared micromobility
program:
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• June 12, 2018 – Council adopts Ordinance 8246 creating a Dockless Bicycle Share
Licensing Program.
• May 21, 2019 - City Council adopts Ordinance 8326 which prohibited the city manager
from issuing business licenses to commercial e-scooter operators. The moratorium was
put in place due to safety and sustainability concerns associated with shared e-scooters.
• January 28, 2020 – City Council Study Session - Council requests staff to bring forth for
consideration of an ordinance extending the e-scooter moratorium. Study Session
Summary (2/18/20)
• April 7, 2020 - Ordinance 8388 was adopted by emergency measure which extended the
e-scooter moratorium until October 21, 2020
• July 7, 2020 - City Council adopts on second reading Ordinance 8398 which introduced
an updated regulatory framework for an update to the 2018 Dockless Bike Share
Licensing Program.
• September 15, 2020 - City Council adopts on second reading by emergency measure,
Ordinance 8423, allowing the regulation of shared electric scooters but excluding use on
open space land.
• October 27, 2020, City Council Study Session – Staff presents shared micromobility
program development approach including a recommendation to proceed with a Request
for Proposal (RFP) process to select a vendor(s) to provide shared micromobility
services, including e-bikes and e-scooters. (Study Session Summary 11/17/20)
ANALYSIS
By the Numbers
Below is a snapshot of operational details for both BCycle and Lime between August 18 and
April 15.
Measures
Lime
E-scooters
BCycle
E-bikes
Total
Number of devices currently deployed 240 285 525
Number of trips since August 18 56,794 215,828 272,622
Daily Average Trips 236 896 N/A
Total Distance Traveled 54,550 miles 438,130
miles
492,680 miles
Average Trip Distance .7 miles 2 miles N/A
Average Trips per device per day 2.7 3.14 N/A
Number of reported crashes* 2 3 5
Max bicycle speed (electric assist) 15mph 15mph N/A
Hours of Daily Operation 6:00am-11:00pm 24 hrs N/A
* Includes reports to police, bicycle/e-scooter vendor, and staff.
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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
BCycle
Over the next several months, BCycle will be performing several improvements to evolve the
current system. By next year, BCycle will add to its e-bike fleet, and the City of Boulder can
expect 300-400 shared e-bikes in circulation city-wide, up from 285 e-bikes currently deployed.
BCycle will also be refurbishing the existing docking stations to replace worn componentry and
to refresh the BCycle brand. New docking stations provided by BCycle will also be added
throughout the city, including four stations in East Boulder, as they work toward expanding the
overall service area. New docking stations will consist of a new streamlined, and modular 3.0
dock that isn’t as large as traditional docking stations which will offer BCycle more flexibility to
install docking stations in areas with a constrained footprint. BCycle is also involved in a
regional bike share study being conducted by Commuting Solutions to explore the feasibility of
expanding Boulder BCycle to the communities of Longmont, Erie, Lafayette, City & County of
Broomfield, Superior and Louisville. This study is funded by a Community Mobility Planning
Initiative Grant, awarded to Commuting Solutions, administered through the Denver Regional
Council of Governments (DRCOG).
Lime
Staff from Lime continue to respond to customer and staff requests to rebalance or retrieve e-
scooters that are not properly parked. The City’s Dockless E-scooter Licensing Program
Ordinance requires Lime to respond to issues within a reasonable timeframe; however, Lime has
demonstrated its ability and commitment to respond to issues faster than expected. Over the few
months of the program, Lime and city staff are analyzing use data to determine the ideal
locations to install parking corrals – locations where Lime e-scooters user may park the devices
at the end of a trip. At strategic locations where sidewalk obstruction is more of a concern,
corrals may be installed in the public right-of-way to provide a visual location of preferred
parking locations for Lime customers. With this approach, Lime customers will still have the
option to park the e-scooters outside of the corrals in some locations.
Lime is currently operating within a limited-service area east of 28th Street; however, the City of
Boulder and CU Boulder are coordinating on minor adjustments to the service area to allow
these trips to be completed west of 28th Street on CU’s main campus. These changes will go into
effect in summer 2022. The new service area will extend to the inside of main campus just west
of 28th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Baseline Road.
Lime and BCycle Service Models
A unique partnership between BCycle and Lime has been formed in Boulder, in that, both
docked and dockless service models are currently in operation. The two types of shared mobility
systems cater to customers differing needs in terms of trip types and trip distances. With respect
to distance traveled, e-scooters trips are typically a mile or less and e-bike trips are typically in
the 2-mile to 3-mile range. By operating two types of shared micromobility, we can provide
increased accessibility, convenience, and an expanded service area. The collection and analysis
of on-going user data will help Transportation & Mobility staff understand which e-scooters fit
customers’ needs in certain areas of the city while also providing helpful data in terms of
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preferred routes, demographics, and travel times. This data has also been made public through an
open data portal. Currently, only Lime e-scooter data is available; however, BCycle data will be
added later this spring.
Affordability and Accessibility (Serving Traditionally Undeserved Neighborhoods)
BCycle and Lime have developed or in the process of developing affordability programs for
people with a low-income or who do not have a credit card or a mobile phone to access the
bicycles and e-scooters. Both BCycle and Lime have coordinated with staff to ensure access to
shared bicycles and e-scooters is available either on or within proximity to traditionally
underserved neighborhoods. The social equity component was explicitly identified in the RFP
scope of work and both vendors are committed to ensuring residents living within these
opportunity areas have access to shared micromobility. Listed below are examples of the types of
equity initiatives currently underway with BCycle and Lime:
• Library Pass Program: BCycle passes are available on the shelves to check out at the
Boulder Main Library. This program is free, does not require a smartphone to use, and
printed materials are in English and Spanish. Since it launched in summer 2021 this
program has served approximately 75 riders with 250 bike share trips.
• Can Do Colorado E-bike Share Program: Registration for this program is open now
and riders have registered 6 out of 50 available free two-year Annual Passes. Boulder
Housing Partners is an outreach partner for this grant, focused on low-income essential
workers.
• Boulder Housing Partners (BHP): Beginning in 2020 Boulder BCycle began offering
free bike share annual passes to BHP affordable housing residents, and since then this
program has received more than 50 registrations, with riders taking over 300 trips. BHP
and Boulder BCycle are working to secure funding to extend this program with no cost to
BHP riders. Additionally, BHP, Boulder Food Rescue, and Boulder BCycle have applied
for Better Bike Share Partnership funding for a pilot program to provide outreach and
free bike access to low-income adults.
• System free days: Throughout the year, BCycle offers several days when Boulder
BCycle system access is free. These are sometimes sponsored events, and sometimes
simply invitations for riders to use the system at no cost. The last free days event took
place from April 22-24, 2022, sponsored by Bosch.
• BCycle donated 200 of the original red BCycle pedal bikes to World Vision.
• Boulder BCycle Access: On deck is the development of a Boulder BCycle Access $40
annual pass (reduced from $150), with cash payment available for unbanked riders.
• Lime Access: The Lime Access program provides discounted fares to qualifying riders.
To qualify, individuals must demonstrate participation in an eligible local, state or federal
benefits program.
• Coordination with San Lazaro community: Lime has produced flyers in Spanish to
sign up people living in the San Lazaro neighborhood. Staff is planning an event at San
Lazaro this spring to help people become more familiar with e-scooters and how the
program works.
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PUBLIC FEEDBACK
Since the inception of the new shared micromobility program, staff has received several
comments from the public mainly about the Lime e-scooter program. Community members have
voiced concerns regarding the e-scooters being parked on sidewalks and on multi-use paths.
Comments range from expressing a general annoyance of the e-scooters being seen everywhere,
e-scooters laying down on the sidewalks and multi-use paths, and general safety concerns for the
users of the devices and those who share space on the roadway with people using the devices.
The City of Boulder’s communication plan identifies several ways for customers to report issues
associated with Shared Micromobility. The Shared Micromobility Program webpage offers
information on the program and methods for community members to report issues directly to
staff and to the shared micromobility vendors, including vendor and staff contacts and a link to
the city’s Inquire Boulder reporting platform. Outreach through City of Boulder social media is
frequently conducted to provide information pertaining to parking the devices responsibly,
customer safety, including the use of helmets.
Community members are encouraged to report issues directly to the vendor as they are required
per the Shared E-scooter Licensing Program ordinance to respond and resolve issues in a timely
manner (within two hours between the hours of 6:00am-10:00pm). Vendors are required to
report to the city the quantity and type of complaints they receive as part of the evaluation
component of the program on a quarterly basis, or as needed, per request from staff.
Additionally, staff monitors reports that comes to the city directly through its communication
channels.
Coordination with Stakeholders
The Shared Micromobility Program requires on-going coordination with several internal and
external stakeholders, including Transportation and Mobility’s Operations and Maintenance
Divisions, the Boulder Police Department, the Fire Department, Parks and Recreation
Department, Communications and Engagement, CU Boulder, Mobility for All, the Boulder
Chamber (Boulder Transportation Connections), the Regional Transportation District (RTD);
and from a regional expansion perspective, Boulder County and Commuting Solutions.
Transportation Planning staff collects observational data from city departments and works to
refine programmatic operations in terms of installation of docking station and shared bicycles
and e-scooter placement in the public right-of-way, travel safety, parking, and educational
outreach. Coordination with external stakeholders includes the promotion of the Shared
Micromobility Program to traditionally underserved community members and employees of
local businesses, as well as developing and implementing first and final mile transit solutions.
NEXT STEPS
Program Evaluation
Program evaluation strategies have been developed for both BCycle and Lime as part of the
scope of work included in each of their agreements with the City of Boulder.
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Vendors, along with key community stakeholders, participate in on-going meetings to discuss
opportunities and challenges with the goal of continuous improvement and program
optimization.
Considering the “pilot program” status for shared e-scooters, staff is actively monitoring and is
collecting operational data that will be used to inform an evaluation report that will be used to
inform any recommended changes to the pilot program status and service area within Boulder.
The following is a list of key criteria that will be analyzed in the report:
• Overall micromobility utilization (Total number of trips and number of unique users)
• Safety (crash and close call reports)
• Equity impact – affordability program utilization
• Characteristics of riders (demographics)
• Micromobility usage patterns
o Frequency and locations of trip origins and destinations
o Frequency of use (comparatively between devices)
o Trips by time of day
o Trips by day of the week
o Impact of precipitation and temperature (weather)
o Trips per device per day
o Average trip length/duration
• Compliance by vendors– indicating management effectiveness
o Responsiveness to city, stakeholder and customer requests
o Device availability and durability (rebalancing/deployment obligations)
• Number of and response times to complaints
o Improperly parked devices
o Abandoned devices
o Malfunctioning devices
• Sustainability
o Carbon off-set calculator
o Durability of equipment (original devices in use since beginning of program)
Data analysis will result in creating a broader understanding of how shared e-scooter are used in
Boulder, including primary origins and destinations, preferred routes, trip purposes, mode shift,
connections made to transit and accessibility for traditionally underserved neighborhoods. Cause
and types of crashes, device parking compliance and sustainability are also factors to be studied
as part of the report.
Following the completion of the evaluation report, staff will conduct community engagement
outreach to community stakeholders, including boards and commissions. The results of the
community engagement will also inform staff’s recommendation to perform any changes to the
overall Shared Micromobility Program, and specifically to the e-scooter pilot program.
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Staff will present the results and staff recommendation to the Transportation Advisory Board and
City Council in Q4 2022. Based on TAB and Council’s input, any modifications to the program
will occur in January 2023.
ATTACHMENTS
A: Proposed E-scooter Pilot Boundaries & Prohibited Use on Paths Map
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Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, USGS, Intermap, INCREMENT P, NRCan, Esri
Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri Korea, Esri (Thailand), NGCC, (c)
OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community05.09.22 TAB Agenda 7A2 - Micromobility
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