City of Arvada Shared Micromobility Pilot Program to Extend into 2023

Following the direction of the City Council and feedback at the November 14 Council workshop, the City team will move forward with an additional year of the shared micromobility pilot program. The program allows contractors to provide shared e-scooters, bikes and e-bikes throughout the city. The continuation of the pilot process will allow City teams to continue studying the functionality of the program, including impacts on improving traffic congestion and transportation connectivity. The City will utilize the Council and community feedback to update the program moving forward. 

The City team is reviewing the rules and regulations, determining best practices for the inclusion of additional vendor contracts and studying the feasibility of incrementally expanding the program area.

Rules & Regulations

The City is reviewing current rules and regulations to propose changes based on feedback from the public, City Council and vendors. As changes are adopted this information will be published to the City website. The City team will continue to gather and evaluate data throughout the 2023 pilot year to ensure continual responsiveness and improvement to community needs

Service Area Expansion

Updates have been made to the Rules and Regulations about the allowed service area. Initially, the pilot program was limited to a one-mile radius of the G Line stations. Additional language allows permit holders to request service area changes. The service area will be expanded incrementally based on vendor performance to support an extended and expanded pilot program. The City will allow up to 400 devices initially.

Vendor Process

Vendors must complete a two-step application process to verify insurance requirements and provide an operational plan that outlines fleet management, app technology and customer service programs. Bird is currently operating in the City and will be required to submit a permit application to continue their operations in 2023. Lime has submitted and received approval of the vendor’s license application (step one). They are proceeding to the operational plan (step two). The City is requesting a diverse fleet type from each vendor

Background

In January 2022, the City of Arvada launched a one-year pilot program to allow private companies to operate shared micromobility devices (such as e-scooters) following recommendations from the Transportation Committee and City Council. Bird currently manages a fleet of e-scooters. City staff have used this opportunity to collect data, survey the public, and report results. The pilot allowed the City to test regulations and operations of the program. In November 2022, with the year end report, City Council discussed interest in extending the pilot program and expanding the pilot area.

Staff will continue to track vendor performance and provide periodic updates to the community and City Council as changes are proposed. In late 2023, the City will develop and share a year end report and present results to the City Council. Please find further program details at arvada.org/scooters.