• LASHONDA WHITE, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER - COMMUNITY SERVICES • GABINO ARREDONDO, PROJECT MANAGER
• BEATRIZ GUERRERO AUNA, TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE COMMUNITIES (TCC) PROJECT
COORDINATOR
• MATIAS EUSTERBROCK, TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE COMMUNITIES (TCC) PRO JECT ANALYST Electric Bikeshare Operations
Contract Amendment
City Council Meeting May 5, 2026
DRAFT
Recommended Action
2 O.4.c. APPROVE a third contract amendment with Charleston Mobility in an amount not to exceed $390,000 for a total not-to- exceed contract amount of $3,540,341, to support the continued operation of the citywide electric bikeshare program till the end of the fiscal year to allow time to determine the future of the program during the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget process; and APPROPRIATE $390,000 from the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) Transportation budget to cover the cost of the contract amendment – Public Works Department/Community
Services Department
Citywide Electric Bikeshare Program History
• July 18, 2018 - City received Metropolitan
Transportation Commission (MTC) funds to operate
pilot electric bikeshare program
• June 2020 - launched pilot bike share with Bolt
Mobility
• July 2022 - Bolt Mobility abruptly ceased operations
• August 19, 2022 - City Council approved an
emergency sole-source contract with Charleston
Mobility, also known as Ride Today
Citywide Electric Bikeshare Program History
4 • October 2022, the City and its partners were
awarded a $35 million TCC grant, including a total
of $998,979.21 to support an expanded bikeshare
program
• September 2023, soft launch in September 2023
which included four (4) bike hubs, and 27
deployed e-bikes
• Currently 12 electric bikeshare hubs, including 7 hubs in the TCC Project Area E-Bikeshare Program & Transformative
Climate Communities (TCC)
As part of the City’s $35M Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) grant, the bikeshare program was granted $998,980 in additional funds to expand the program within the Iron
Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado neighborhoods
TCC funded 5 bike hubs, as well as a Community Engagement Manager, to increase awareness and adoption of the bikeshare program within these neighborhoods
Free Voucher Program: As of December 2025, a total of 1,478 vouchers, CO2 emission reductions of approximately 4.11 tons 5 Ride Today
E-Bike Hub
Locations
6 Currently 12 electric
bikeshare hubs, including
7 hubs in the TCC Project
Area
Ridership
Data from
September
2023
through
March 31,
2026
7 Measures
Since Program Launch Fiscal Year (FY) 26
September 2023 through March 2026 July 2025 through March 2026 Registered users in Richmond 4,560 registered users 1,211 new sign-ups # of trips 4,664 trips 1,067 trips
# of trips per registered user 1.0 trips 0.2 trips
# of trips per day Citywide 5.1 trips/day 3.9 trips/day # of users who took at least one trip 2,226 users 405 users Percent of registered users who took at least one trip 49% 9% # of registered users that used bikeshare program more
than once 810 users 159 users
Percent of registered users that used bikeshare program more than once
18% of
registered users
3% of
registered users
Positive experience during ridership 86% 88%
Expenditure
Data
through
March 31,
2026
8 Measures
Since Program Launch Fiscal Year 26
September 2023 through March 2026 July 2025 through March 2026 Total City expenditures for Ride Today $2,989,760.62 $512,049.48 Cost to City per trip $641.03/trip $479.90/trip
Cost to City per user who took at least one trip
during period $1,343.11/user $1,264.32/user
Total CO2 emission reductions 4.89 metric tons 1.16 metric tons Cost to City per ton of CO2 reduced $611,403.009 /ton of CO2 reduced
$441,421.97 /ton of CO2
reduced
Next Steps
9 During the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget discussion, City staff will bring a detailed report regarding the future of the e-bike program for City Council consideration.
At that time, City Council can determine if the e-bike program should:
(1) continue as-is with a limited number of e-bikes and bike hubs, (2) expand to increase the e-bike offerings to additional locations throughout the City, or
(3) conclude within the first quarter of FY 2026-27 with the City offering other opportunities for e-bikes and/or other forms of alternative transportation to support first mile-last mile connections.
Recommended Action
10 APPROVE a third contract amendment with Charleston Mobility in an amount not to exceed $390,000 for a total not-to-exceed contract amount of $3,540,341, to support the continued operation of the citywide electric bikeshare program till the end of the fiscal year to allow time to determine the future of the program during the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget process; and APPROPRIATE $390,000 from the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) Transportation budget to cover the cost of the contract amendment