Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: CONSENT CALENDAR (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING DROP
MOBILITY THE RIGHT TO OPERATE SHARED ELECTRIC
BICYCLES WITHIN THE CITY OF COTATI AND
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A
REVOCABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH DROP MOBILITY
LLC (DBA: DROP MOBILITY) TO PARK AND OPERATE
SHARED ELECTRIC BICYCLES WITHIN THE CITY OF
COTATI
Date: August 13, 2024
Written by: JP Harries, Senior Planner
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution authorizing Drop Mobility the right to operate shared electric bicycles within Cotati and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a revocable license agreement with Drop Mobility and sign all other documents necessary to allow operation and parking of shared electric bikes within Cotati as part of a two-year bike share pilot program in Sonoma and Marin counties.
Background/Discussion
In August 2018, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) awarded the Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) and the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) a $826,000 Bike Share Capital Program grant to support the Marin-Sonoma Bike Share Program (Program). The Program will provide for a system of at least 300 shared pedal electric assist bicycles (e-bikes) around and connecting to the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) stations between Santa Rosa and Larkspur. The participating agencies and jurisdictions include Cotati, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Novato, San Rafel, Larkspur, SMART, and the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District.
Goals of the Program as established through the grant:
• To encourage and support the expansion of bicycle use through bike sharing • To facilitate multimodal transportation with local transit • To address first/last mile connections for commuters who use SMART and other transit systems
In February 2020, SCTA approved an agreement with Gotcha Mobility, LLC (Gotcha) to plan, launch and operate a three-year pilot bike share program. In early 2021, Gotcha was purchased by Gotcha Mobile Holdings, LLC with their services operating under the name Bolt Mobility (Bolt).
On May 11, 2021, the Cotati City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-19 authorizing Bolt the right to operate shared e-bikes within the City of Cotati as a part of the Program and authorizing the City Manager to enter into a Coordination Agreement with Bolt, SCTA, TAM and other jurisdictions participating in the Program. The City Manager signed the finalized Coordination Agreement on September 30, 2021.
Interjurisdictional coordination and Program planning proceeded until the summer of 2022 when Bolt ceased communications with staff and discontinued operations nationwide. SCTA subsequently terminated its agreement with Bolt. To date, only a small portion of the grant funding for the Program has been spent on attorney’s fees.
Like all forms of transit and transportation, the COVID-19 pandemic caused market instability for shared micromobility companies with reduced trips, supply chain issues, and increased operating costs. After Bolt ceased operations, City staff continued to work with SCTA, TAM and other jurisdictions to consider whether a modified scope might be more viable, and whether alternative programs that also advance goals for reducing vehicle miles travelled and first/last mile connections with transit should be considered. SCTA, TAM and the participating jurisdictions chose to continue to pursue a shared micromobility program and agreed to modify the scope of work to allow for more flexibility to develop a more viable Program.
In June 2023 SCTA staff released a revised Request for Proposals (RFP). In August, four proposals were received and reviewed. One proposal was rejected because it did not meet the minimum requirements and then a selection panel comprised of staff from SCTA, TAM, MTC, SMART, Santa Rosa, and San Rafael reviewed, scored and interviewed the remaining firms. The panel made a unanimous decision to recommend Drop Mobility as the top-ranked firm.
On December 11, 2023, the SCTA Board authorized the Executive Director to finalize and enter into an agreement with Drop Mobility to plan and operate a two-year bike share pilot program.
Since then, City staff have been meeting monthly with SCTA, TAM, SMART, MTC, and other participating jurisdictions to plan and develop the Program with Drop Mobility.
Analysis/Discussion
Marin-Sonoma Bike Share Program
The proposed Program scope of work (see Exhibit A) includes planning, equipment procurement, launch, and a two-year operation of a system of 300 shared pedal electric assist bicycles (Class 1 e-bikes) and approximately 75 parking hubs with wayfinding and advertising signage. Under the agreement with SCTA, Drop will design the service area and bicycle parking plan based on previous research, public and stakeholder input, market analysis and site evaluations. The system is expected to launch in September of this year and continue for two years after launch. The agreement includes a 90/10 revenue split, where Drop maintains 90 percent of the revenue and 10 percent is allocated to SCTA to reinvest in the system during or after the pilot period. System operations after the pilot are expected to require additional funding for subsidies.
Currently, there are three e-bike parking hubs proposed in Cotati. One will be at the SMART station located on SMART property adjacent to the platform. The other two will be located within the public right-of-way: 1) next to the bus stop located on Old Redwood Highway between West Sierra Avenue and La Plaza, and 2) at the corner of La Salle Avenue and East Cotati Avenue. Other nearby parking hubs include Sonoma State University and Sonoma Mountain Village.
Figure 1 – Location of bike share parking hub at La Plaza Park Figure 2 – Location of bike share parking hub at La Salle Avenue & East Cotati Avenue Figure 3 – Rack style used by Drop Mobility
Financial Considerations
The Program will be funded by the Bike Share Capital Program grant from MTC that was awarded to SCTA and TAM. The Program will require city staff time for participation in the working groups, public outreach, and the permitting process. Additionally, the City has agreed to waive all permitting fees associated with the license agreement for installation of the bike hub and operations of the program.
Environmental Issues
This project qualifies for a Categorical Exemption under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301(c) (Existing Facilities). The project also qualifies for a Statutory Exemption under Section 21080.25(b)(1) of the Public Resources Code, which exempts transportation projects that include bicycle facilities that improve safety, access, or mobility, including new facilities, within the public right-of-way as long as it meets the criteria provided in Section 21080.25(c) of the Public Resources Code. Section 21080.25(c) exempts new bicycle facilities (including bike share facilities) when: 1) a public agency is carrying out the project and is the lead agency, 2) the project is located within an urbanized area, 3) the project is located within an existing right-of-way, 4) the project will not add new automobile capacity, and 5) the project will not require the demolition of affordable units. All these criteria are met; therefore, no further environmental review is required.