CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: June 27, 2022
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
SUBJECT: ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. ___-22 AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A 12-MONTH PILOT
OPERATING AGREEMENT WITH BIRD RIDES, INC. TO OPERATE
ELECTRIC SCOOTERS WITHIN THE CITY OF PLEASANT HILL
SYNOPSIS
In early February, Mike Butler, a representative from nationwide micromobility provider Bird Rides, Inc. (“Bird”), contacted staff about the City’s interest in a pilot program to deploy electric scooters in Pleasant Hill. He made a subsequent presentation to the City Council at its regular meeting on March 7, 2022, at the conclusion of which the Council indicated an interest in pursuing the program. Since then City staff has met both internally and with Mr. Butler to discuss terms of a draft pilot agreement, has conducted outreach to stakeholders in the community, and has researched pilot programs in other jurisdictions. Having completed its due diligence, City staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute the proposed agreement with Bird to conduct a one-year pilot, subject to the terms and conditions therein.
DISCUSSION
Background
What is “micromobility”? Micromobility is a catch-all term for transportation using lightweight vehicles (e.g., bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones) that may be borrowed as part of a selfservice rental program through which companies like Bird, Lime, and Spin, among others, loan vehicles for short-term use, typically through an app on a smart device. Micromobility is a valuable, eco-friendly transportation tool that addresses first-mile/last-mile connections to public transit (e.g., BART), reduces roadway congestion, and curtails greenhouse gas emissions.
Assembly Bill (AB) 1286. In 2020, the state legislature approved and Governor Newsom signed into law AB 1286 to help local agencies regulate micromobility providers. AB 1286 requires that shared micromobility operators enter into an agreement with, or obtain a permit from, the city or county with jurisdiction over the proposed service area. The law also requires providers to satisfy certain insurance requirements before operating. The proposed pilot agreement satisfies AB 1286.
Who is Bird? Bird is a micromobility company based in Santa Monica, CA, that operates worldwide in nearly 400 communities both large and small. Bird operates statewide in California from Eureka to Hollister to Indio, and many cities in between. According to Mr. Butler, Bird is currently operating in San Francisco, San Jose, and South San Francisco, and is pursuing expansion opportunities in 15 other Bay Area communities, including Pleasant Hill. Bird has also negotiated with the cities of San Ramon and Redwood City to operate scooters, and the company recently won an RFP with Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) as part of CCTA’s regional mobility program.
City Council Presentation. Mr. Butler presented to City Council on March 7, 2022, regarding Bird’s interest in establishing a pilot in Pleasant Hill. The Council’s feedback was generally positive and supportive of exploring the pilot program. The Council inquired about safety compliance, such as the use of helmets and riding on sidewalks, and the “clutter” of scooters parked on public streets/sidewalks. Mr. Butler outlined the measures Bird takes to address these commonly voiced concerns in other communities, including deployment of a locally owned fleet management company that ensures the orderly maintenance and timely repositioning of improperly parked scooters. At the conclusion of the presentation, City Council directed staff to work with Bird on a draft pilot agreement for future consideration.
Analysis
Overview of the Pilot Agreement
The draft pilot agreement addresses operating regulations (including safety measures), parking rules, maintenance obligations, data sharing terms, and insurance requirements. The agreement allows Bird to operate a maximum of 150 scooters in Pleasant Hill daily (Bird may deploy fewer units initially) and establishes scooter availability between 4:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. seven days a week. A revenue sharing provision allocates to the City $0.15 per ride for rides that originate, pass-through, or terminate in the City. Lastly, there are provisions that allow Bird to request renewal of the agreement and the City to terminate it upon written notice.
Duration and Administration.
The initial pilot agreement is valid for 12 months. If Bird desires to renew the agreement, the company must inform the City three months prior to expiration. Any subsequent consideration of renewal is subject to City Council review and approval, at which time the Council may consider data, staff input, and community feedback in evaluating the program. In the event that the City wishes to terminate the pilot agreement for any reason, Section 2 of the agreement requires that the City provide Bird with a 30-day written notice.
The pilot agreement explicitly states the operation and maintenance of the scooter program is the sole responsibility of Bird and its affiliates in accordance with the terms of the pilot. Bird is required to provide easily visible contact information, including toll-free phone number and/or email address on each scooter so members of the public can make relocation, removal, or maintenance requests or report other issues with, or nuisances created by scooters and their users.
Operations
Data Sharing. Bird has agreed to provide the City access to anonymized fleet and ride activity data for all trips starting or ending within the City of Pleasant Hill. Bird uses the data visualization software Tableau, and will provide City staff with credentials to access the data at any point in time. Staff will review data and ridership trends, such as peak ride distance and time (duration), average ride distance and time (duration), top-ten pick-up and termination sites, among other data points, to evaluate the pilot and inform policy recommendations in the future.
Fleet management. In March, City Council asked Bird about the potential “clutter” effect of scooters parked haphazardly in public places. City staff and the Police Department voiced similar concerns about responding to community members’ requests to remove scooters and the potential impacts to public safety of poorly parked scooters. In response, the agreement contains several clauses clarifying where users may and may not park scooters, including a requirement that users take a photo wherever they park at the end of a ride. Further, Bird intends to hire a locally owned fleet management company to redistribute scooters and to respond to calls from the public about improperly parked scooters. In the event Bird fails to act in a timely manner and City staff is required to respond, remove, and/or store the scooter(s), terms of the pilot agreement allow the City to assess a cost recovery fee of $75 per incident, plus a storage charge of $100, as applicable.
Geo-fencing. Geo-fencing is a GPS-enabled tool that allows Bird to provide, restrict, or modify access to various areas of the City through its app. Geo-fencing enhances safety and ensures compliance with desired scooter restrictions, as established collaboratively by Bird and City staff.
Because each Bird scooter is GPS-equipped, Bird can establish boundaries to prohibit access to certain areas (e.g., Iron Horse Trail) or reduce scooter speeds within others (e.g., Pleasant Hill Park). Encroaching upon a restricted area will prompt an alert to the user, cause the scooter to power down, and will require the user to remove it manually from the restricted area. Entering a reduced-speed zone will again prompt the user and reduce scooter speed to a speed deemed appropriate for that zone.
Parking. Bird anticipates establishing 15 to 25 strategically placed “nests” with three to five scooters at each location. These “nests” could be located on private property (subject to owner’s consent) or on public land within “furniture zones” – areas within the City right-of-way, such as sidewalks or on-street parking stalls designated for scooter parking. Section 6 of the agreement notes, “Furniture zones must maintain a minimum clearance of 48 inches at all times to accommodate pedestrian movement and satisfy ADA accessibility requirements.” Further, riders may not park scooters in a way that blocks access to emergency facilities, bus benches/shelters, utility boxes, commercial driveways/aisles, etc. Bird’s fleet manager is responsible for ensuring compliance with these parking requirements.
Safety
The California Vehicle Code (CVC) regulates electric scooters, which it codifies as “motorized scooters.” In accordance with state law, the agreement addresses the following safety aspects:
Helmets. As noted in Section 7.e.iii., state law requires users under the age of 18 to wear a helmet. While helmets are not required for users 18 years of age and older, Bird strongly recommends their use and provides safety tutorials to all users prior to beginning a ride. Bird uses an incentive-driven approach to encourage safety, such as giving away helmets upon request and awarding free credits for future rides to those who follow safety protocols.
Paths of Travel. State law and provisions of the agreement restrict the use of Bird scooters to roadways, bike lanes and bike paths. Riding scooters on sidewalks, curbs, or marked on-street parking stalls is prohibited. Further, as previously noted, geo-fencing allows for other limitations on vehicle speeds within, and access to various zones, areas, facilities, etc. within the City.
Rental Restrictions. Pursuant to state law, only patrons who possess a valid California driver’s license may rent an electric scooter. Further, the pilot agreement stipulates in Section 5h. that “Users…shall be 18 or older,” and, “The Company shall be responsible for verifying user age and restricting use through cloud service and mobile app solutions to those users under the age of 18 without parent or guardian permission.”
Speed Limits. As required by the CVC, a scooter may travel no faster than 15mph, though speeds can be reduced (or scooters completely disabled) depending on location. Using a combination of GPS and geo-fencing technologies deployed through its smart device app – possession of which is a pre-requisite to renting a scooter – Bird empowers jurisdictions to place limits on the speed and/or operation of its scooters within specific zones, venues, facilities, or locations, as desired.
Revenue
City staff negotiated a revenue sharing provision in the pilot agreement of $0.15 per ride. Based on projected demand for scooters and the number of scooters deployed, Bird estimates the program may generate $4,500 to $6,000 in City revenue annually. The revenue collected may supplement the construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Pleasant Hill and defray the costs of administering the program. Lastly, the agreement includes cost recovery language if/when City staff is required to respond to a community complaint(s) about scooters.
Outreach
Stakeholders. Since March 7, staff has reached out to various community stakeholders to gauge interest and receptivity to the program, including: the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce; Downtown Pleasant Hill (Vestar); Stay Pleasant Hill; Diablo Valley College; Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District. Generally, the feedback has been positive, as stakeholders were receptive to the pilot with some requesting no parking, limited access, or reduced speeds in certain locations or facilities around the city.
Agreements in Other Jurisdictions. City staff conducted research on Bird’s expansion into other cities in the state. In northern California over the past year, the cities of Hollister and Tracy have approved the deployment of scooters through similar pilot agreements, though the City of Modesto recently denied Bird’s request to bring 100 scooters to its jurisdiction. Citing concerns about keeping riders off sidewalks and ensuring the proper parking/placement of scooters, Modesto councilmembers believed enforcement would fall disproportionately upon the Modesto Police Department.
Staff contacted the City of Hollister, which is similar to Pleasant Hill in size and population and had approved a similar 12-month scooter pilot in August 2021. Hollister staff relayed that Bird’s fleet management company had been very responsive to calls from the community. Further, after the first month or two, complaints dissipated as the community acclimated to the scooters’ presence. On a related note, Hollister’s police department did not report an increased enforcement burden attributable to scooters.
FISCAL IMPACT
Based upon Bird’s projected demand for the scooters in Pleasant Hill, at a rate of $0.15 per ride, Bird estimates revenues to the City may range from $4,500 to $6,000 per year, though the pilot itself will validate projections. The revenue collected may fund bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements and can help to defray the cost of administering the program. Further, in the event that Bird does not respond in a timely manner to community complaints to remove or replace scooters, the agreement allows the City to recover the costs associated with staff time required to reposition and/or store the scooters.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center, and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department.
The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page.
CEQA
Approval of this one-year pilot program is not a “project” within the meaning of CEQA, because it is an organizational and administrative activity that will not result in a direct or indirect physical change to the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5)). If, however, approval of the pilot were deemed a project for CEQA purposes, it would be exempt from CEQA review, as it can be determined with certainty that there is no possibility the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs §15061(b)(3)). Bird may only deploy a maximum of 150 scooters within the City, and each scooter will be electric and battery-powered, creating zero emissions. Use of these scooters will make certain journeys possible without use of an automobile, which will in fact have the potential effect of reducing overall Citywide emissions and reducing traffic congestion. Finally, the state legislature has determined (CVC §21220) motorized scooters that produce no emissions do not contribute to air pollution or traffic congestion, issues of “paramount importance” in the CEQA setting.
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
City staff recommends that City Council adopt the proposed resolution to authorize and direct the City Manager to execute a 12-month pilot agreement with Bird Rides, Inc. to allow the company to operate electric scooters, pursuant to the provisions of the agreement.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council may choose to decline to authorize the execution of the pilot agreement, or may provide further direction to staff regarding the proposal prior to any future consideration.
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proposed Resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a 12-month pilot agreement Exhibit 1 – Pilot Operating Agreement
Prepared by: Ethan Bindernagel, Director of Community Development / Assistant City Manager Reviewed by: Janet Coleson, City Attorney
Approved by: June Catalano, City Manager