City Council Meeting | October 6, 2026
BikeShare Operations, Maintenance,
and Modernization
2 Background
▪ On September 18, 2026 - A comprehensive memo was issued pertaining to the RFP process, protest determinization and responses to concerns raised. ▪ On September 22, 2026 – A recommendation was brought to City Council to adopt specifications and award a contract to Drop Mobility. City Council requested additional information
▪ This update is intended to supplement the September 22, 2026 presentation with additional materials discussed and requested.
3 Procurement Services
How the City procures competitive contracts, and why it matters ▪ An RFP procures goods and services in a way that is open, fair transparent, competitive,
and equitable.
▪ Not based on price, but rather, what provides
the best value to the City and taxpayers.
▪ Publicly states the minimum qualifications,
evaluation criteria, and scoring so everyone
has a level playing field, equal access to
information, and a fair and consistent
process.
▪ A fair protest process is established, with the
Purchasing Agent's determination to be final.
4 Procurement Services
Part of the Department of Financial Management, Procurement Services runs formal solicitations for the City 22 City departments and offices
supported
255
formal solicitations
$709M
in contract spend
$125M
in small-dollar purchases
Figures reflect Fiscal Year 2025]
What we do
• Purchases over $40,000 go through a formal, competitive solicitation on Long Beach Buys
• Invitation to Bid (price), Request for Proposals (price and content), Request for Qualifications (prequalification)
• Procurement runs the process from release through the protest period; every proposer gets the same information at the same time Long Beach Buys: every solicitation, addendum, question and answer, and result is posted publicly, with guides and videos in English, Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog.
5 Our Values
Long Beach is committed to these values in every purchase Results-Driven
Contracting practices enhance the impact of
City programs
Best Value
Goods and services procured on price and
quality
Service
Departments get what the community and
taxpayers need
Efficient
Barriers removed; time, effort, and money not
wasted
Competitive
An open pool of vendors; everyone who wants
an opportunity has one
Fair
Unbiased decisions, without preferential
treatment
Equitable
A diverse vendor pool and an equity lens on
purchasing
Transparent
Process information is public, for trust and
accountability
Compliance
Every process and transaction is monitored and
protected
6 Why Competition Matters
Competing contracts is how the City gets the best value and keeps the process fair A larger pool of vendors
• Every opportunity is posted on Long
Beach Buys and registered vendors
are notified
• Upcoming contracts forecast at
longbeach.gov/upcoming contracts
• Community outreach and one-on-one
technical assistance
Best value for residents
• Criteria and weights published before
proposals are due
• Every proposal scored the same way,
on price and quality
• The highest score wins; awarding a
lower score undermines the process
• Standard terms run up to five years,
then work is competed again
• Across hundreds of contracts,
transitions happen regularly
• A transition means competition is
working
Procurement Services staff attended or hosted more than 90 outreach events in just over two years.
Change is healthy
7 Local Preference Program
Designed to reduce barriers for Long Beach businesses and keep City spending in the community How it works for RFPs
▪ Long Beach-based businesses receive an extra 5%
after evaluation. Receive an additional 5% if they
are non-residential, brick-and-mortar locations.
▪ Not an evaluation criteria and has no bearing on
the recommendation; being a local business was
not a condition of the RFP.
▪ Works like extra credit and is added to a proposer's
score after evaluation.
▪ Local Preference applied to this RFP and Pedal
Movement received the full 10%.
Example: an RFP
Vendor Score Local Total
A: Non-local 75% 0 75%
B: Local 70% +10 80%
C: Local 60% +10 70%
Vendor B wins a close competition.
Vendor C, also local, still finishes last:
the preference adds to the score, it does
not replace it.
8 A Nationally Recognized Process
The Extreme Procurement Makeover, 2020 to 2023, rebuilt procurement policy, process, and practice Awards and recognition
▪ Transformed and remade operations to deliver
responsible and innovative results via the
Extreme Procurement Makeover
▪ Entire process was relaunched after strategic
collaboration with Harvard Kennedy
Government Performance Lab, Procurement
Excellence Network, PPG, CAPPO, and NIGP,
who established industry best practices.
▪ NPI Achievement of Excellence in Procurement,
6 of the last 7 years
▪ GFOA Award for Excellence, NCPP Above and
Beyond Award, GFOA Recognition for
Outstanding Public Service
Recognizes innovation,
professionalism, productivity,
leadership, and eprocurement
Featured by Harvard’s DataSmart City Solutions and
Results for America
9 Specific RFP PW-25-631 Timeline
Date Step
Dec. 16, 2025 RFP was released on Long Beach Buys; 116 potential proposers were notified, 9 local; 44 local, small, minority-owned, and women-owned business groups emailed Jan. 6, 2026 Optional virtual information session
Jan. 13, 2026 Written questions were due
Jan. 27, 2026 All questions and answers posted; no questions on minimum qualifications, evaluation criteria, or local preference; seven addenda issued
March 3, 2026 Four proposals received: Drop Mobility, Pedal Movement, Lyft Bikes and Scooters, Bluesky Energy; all four were deemed responsive
April 17, 2026 Top three proposers shortlisted
May 4 to 5, 2026 Interviews and in-person bicycle demos were conducted; references were checks May 11, 2026 Notice of Intent to Award was posted: Drop Mobility 10 Evaluation and Scores
A four-member committee scored every proposal against the criteria and weights published in the RFP.
Evaluation criteria Weight
Organizational Capacity and
Experience
25%
Method of Approach 40%
Communications and Reporting 20%
Reasonableness of Cost 15%
Proposer Base
score
Local
preference
Final
score
Drop Mobility 91% n/a 91%
Pedal Movement Inc. 79% +10% 89%
Lyft Bikes & Scooters, LLC 73% n/a 73%
Bluesky Energy LLC 48% +10% 58%
What the committee found
• Committee: three Public Works subject-matter experts and one from Technology and Innovation • Drop Mobility scored higher than Pedal Movement in three of the four criteria; Pedal Movement scored higher in Organizational Capacity and Experience
• Scoring was consistent across evaluators, with no outliers 11 Protest and Determination
The RFP defines the protest procedures. The Purchasing Agent’s determination is final.
Date Action
May 11 Notice of Intent to Award posted; fivebusiness-day protest period begins May 15, 28,
June 3
Protest period extended so all parties
could review requested information
June 9 Timely protest received from Pedal
Movement: responsiveness,
evaluation criteria, and release of
information
June 29 Purchasing Agent determines there is
no basis to support the protest
What the protest review found
• Minimum qualifications were applied to all
four proposers on the same basis; all four
were responsive
• Evaluation criteria were published in
December 2025 and never changed
• Scoring was consistent; no outliers among the
four evaluators
• Under Section 5.5 of the RFP, the protest
process is the sole remedy and the
determination is final
12 Protest Item: Fleet Size
The RFP required a "proven track record managing fleets of at least 1,000 vehicles in urban environments comparable to Long Beach”.
Response
▪ All four proposers met the minimum qualifications specified in the RFP. The minimum qualifications were applied consistently, and all four proposers were considered responsive. ▪ This qualification refers to fleets – plural – operated by the proposer. The City was always interested in the cumulative total of a company's multiple fleets in multiple urban environments. ▪ There was no basis to support or substantiate the protest. Evaluation criteria were clearly defined in December 2025 in great detail, and remained consistent throughout the process. ▪ There was no evidence to suggest that the evaluation was unfair. A thorough review of the evaluation and scoring was conducted. The evaluation was consistent and no outliers were identified. ▪ The City performed due diligence activities and followed standard operating procedures based on RFP terms and conditions, industry best practices, and any applicable laws or regulations. 13 Drop Mobility
Headquarters
Drop Mobility California LLC lists its address in San
Francisco. Corporate offices in Redwood City,
California, and Toronto. Regional hub in La Mirada.
References
The RFP requested five references. The
committee conducted reference checks of Drop
Mobility’s references: Valley Bike, New Orleans,
Albany and Redwood City
Staffing
• The RFP set no staffing ratio, but rather required KPIs on bike availability; proposers provided the staffing ratios needed to meet 80% bike availability on a daily basis • Proposals were compared based on total hours of service • Results:
• Drop and Pedal Movement provided very similar hours (within 1.5%) dedicated to maintenance, rebalancing, warehousing, and customer service. Drop proposed less management hours and a full 5- day work week, where Pedal Movement proposed 32-hour work weeks for full-time employees • Bluesky proposed considerably less annual hours in total • Lyft proposed fees per bike, providing minimal insight into staffing levels, similar to the current contract 14 Local Business and Hiring Requirements
The RFP requirements
• Dedicated W2 employees, or a local
subcontractor, for maintenance, rebalancing,
and other field operations
• A physical facility within City limits
• A community outreach plan with a minimum of
four events per year
• Bikeshare support for major City-sponsored
events – Outreach, Tabeling, Valet etc.
The RFP does not require
• Hiring the incumbent operator’s employees
• Sponsorships or charitable giving; sponsorship
proposals were optional
• Volunteer commitments
15 Drop Mobility: Proposal Commitments
Council asked how the City can ensure the new vendor has the same commitment to Long Beach; Drop’s RFP proposal outlined several community and local job commitments 19 full-time positions
supported by the current
contract, as reported by
Pedal Movement
16 local full-time positions
in Drop Mobility’s Year
One plan
5 Drop Mobility staff
already living in Long
Beach: two employees
and three contractors
Local Jobs and Community Engagement
• Monthly community rides and demonstrations at farmers’ markets and street festivals
• Partnership with BikeLA: bilingual bike education,
community rides, enrollment assistance
• Equity enrollment drives, multilingual materials, direct mail in underserved areas
• A “Small Business Spotlight” series featuring businesses near bikeshare stations
• National Director of Product Operations is a 20-year Long Beach resident
• All field staff W-2, no subcontractors, operating at a facility in Long Beach
16 Hiring
Drop Mobility: Additional Commitments
Since Sept. 22nd, Drop has provided the following commitments in writing and attached to this memorandum (September 29, 2026)
Drop has committed to a new three round hiring system:
• Closed first-round interview for every current Pedal Movement employee interested • Second round: Long Beach residents
• Third round: other candidates
Headquarters
Drop has committed to move their Southern California headquarters from La Mirada to Long Beach
• This adds product development and hardware positions, not just operations Community
Services
Free bike valet for community events, as directed by the Transportation Services Bureau Free pop-up repair clinics, so residents keep the services they rely on today 17 Parking Plan and Contract Structure
Hybrid model
• Hybrid parking offers users the option to
park vehicles at designated hubs or lock to
any standard bike rack for an additional fee;
this is the current parking model
• A hybrid parking model was requested in
Section 2 -- Method of Approach
• A hybrid model allows the City to retain it’s
current parking infrastructure
• To stay within standard 2:1 parking to bike
ratio, the City would need to allocate
increased capital expenses on docking hubs
Management fee transparency
• Section 4.2 directed itemized costs using the
City’s workbook: each expense on its own line,
management fee separate
• Contract: expenses reimbursed at actual cost;
revenue applied before payment
• Tiered management fee according to fleet
deployed; reduced if availability falls below 80
percent
• Current contract: fixed amount regardless of
bikes deployed or labor hours ran.
18 Hybrid vs. Docked Parking
A fully docked system would require these parking
towers for each bike. In a standard 2:1 parking to bike ratio the City would need 1400 of these for a 700 bike
fleet. These cannot be used for personal bikes.
A hybrid parking model allows for vehicles to lock to
standard bicycle racks, as shown above with cable
lock. Drop’s bicycles have front wheel locks to
compliment the cable lock that allows for hybrid
parking.
19 Parking Plan Fiscal Impacts
Capital Required to Deploy New Fleet
Drop Unit Price Qty Bikes Qty Docks Total
New E-Bikes $ 2,700 700 $1.89M
Non-Charging Parking
Option - - ~1400 (existing) -
Retrofit Pedal Bikes $ 500 150 $75k
One-Time Retrofit Cost $25,000 - - $75k
$1.99M
Pedal Movement
New E-Bikes $ 2,858.00 700 - $2.00M
Required Docks $ 2,475.00 - 1400 $3.47M
$5.47M
Drop Mobility’s proposed plan of using current City infrastructure and allowing hybrid parking allows the City a significant cost savings that can be invested in the full amount of proposed bikes, rather than costly parking options.
The City would be forced to deploy 70% LESS bicycles for the program under Pedal Movement’s proposal. At Drop Mobility's Year One capital cost of $1.99 million, Pedal Movement's proposal would fund about 255 bikes instead of 850.
Capital is a one-time cost, but a docked system requires additional docks every time the fleet grows, so the gap widens as the program scales.
20 Operations and Equity
Geofencing, retrieval, and BikeShare for All
Geofencing and retrieval
• Every vehicle has GPS and supports geofencing,
remote disabling, and digital enforcement of noride and no-parking zones • The contractor must adhere to all City
geofenced zones and provide rebalancing
procedures
• The service area is the entire City
• Any bike that travels beyond the service area
will be retrieved by Drop Mobility
BikeShare for All
• The City, not the vendor, sets pricing for the
BikeShare Program
• The RFP requires equitable pricing that
continues or builds on BikeShare for All,
available to unbanked and non-smartphone
users
• City-directed fare changes are supported at no
additional cost to the City
21 Next Steps
If City Council awards the contract on October 6
When Action
October 2026 Execute the contract; Drop Mobility establishes local operations and begins recruitment, including interviews with current Program employees
By December 2026 Order the electric bike fleet and charging docks; Pedal Movement contract extension keeps the existing fleet in service through Dec. 31, 2026 Early 2027 Electric bike fleet deployed; existing pedal fleet retained and transitioned to the new platform
Spring 2027 850 bikes operational by spring 2027.
2027 to 2028 Fleet scales with revenue and grant funding toward the 2028 Games 22 Fleet of 850 bikes, including 700 new ebikes
Approximately $5 million in cost savings compared to other proposals Continues the use of current parking infrastructure and pedal bike fleet New Drop Mobility Long Beach based operations warehouse Drop committed to local staffing
Leverage Drop’s marketing and technology to boost ridership and engage community organizations
Reduced cost in monthly operations
2028 Games readiness
Next Steps
City staff strongly continues to support Drop Mobility and the fair procurement process to provide the best overall BikeShare program for Long Beach.
Drop Mobility Contract gets Long Beach…
Thank You