1 Vernice Hankins
From: Santa Monica City Manager's Office
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022 7:40 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: FW: 8/23 council meeting item 10C: YES to affordable and equitable bikeshare From: Allon Percus <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2022 10:19 AM
To: Council Mailbox <[email protected]>
Cc: Santa Monica City Manager's Office <[email protected]>; Council Mailbox <[email protected]>; Kyle Kozar <[email protected]>; [email protected] Subject: 8/23 council meeting item 10C: YES to affordable and equitable bikeshare
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Councilmembers,
I am writing concerning item 10C on the council meeting agenda for August 23rd. As a Santa Monica resident, I SUPPORT the staff recommendation for a contracting model for shared mobility services.
With the closure of the Breeze bikeshare system, shared mobility in Santa Monica currently suffers from two fatal flaws:
1) It is prohibitively expensive to use on a regular basis. 2) Youth under 18 years of age are completely excluded from using it.
I urge the council to move as quickly as possible to restore an affordable bikeshare system to Santa Monica. Furthermore, I urge the city to ensure that the system will be available to teenagers (under the responsibility of an adult, if needed), as are most public bikeshare systems such as LA Metro Bikeshare. As a basic matter of equity and public health, our youth deserve every possible encouragement to use active rather than automotive transportation.
Best wishes,
Allon Percus
1105 Centinela Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
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Santa Monica City Council
Regular Meeting
8/23/2022
Public Comment
Re: Agenda Item 10.C - Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance amending SMMC 3.22 and adding section 3.23 to allow shared mobility services to be provided under a contract agreement with the City
Dear Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers,
Veo is supportive of both staff recommendations in moving towards a contracted model for shared mobility device services.
As one of the City’s current shared mobility providers, Veo is grateful to serve the Santa Monica community and proud to call Santa Monica our home. Just over a year ago, Veo launched its state-of-the-art class II e-bikes and stand-up scooters in the City of Santa Monica. We’ve been busy ever since.
Earlier this year Veo moved its headquarters to Santa Monica, specifically to Third Street Promenade in the heart of the city. We’ve more than doubled our local headquarters staff and have plans to continue hiring locally.
We have built strong, meaningful relationships with community leaders and organizations, learning from them and following their lead in delivering a micromobility program that suits the needs of our community. Forming meaningful and long-lasting relationships has - and always will be - a critical part of Veo’s ethos.
Building trust and working cooperatively with the community have resulted in tremendous success in device utilization. Our Cosmo class II e-bikes and Astro stand-up devices account for a significant portion of the pilot program’s aggregate ridership totals.
Veo has truly made Santa Monica its home, and we have felt the love returned from the community in being voted Most Loved Micromobillity Vendor during the Most Loved 2022 campaign.
The move towards a longer-term contracted model is an astute and welcome evolution of the program. However, there are two critical points for consideration that we believe should be included in discussion as the City moves to extend the current pilot and issue a competitive RFP for contracted services:
1. Issue no new permits during the extension phase of the pilot program: It is inferred, but not explicitly mentioned, that the City will Item 10.C
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continue to work with only the four current shared mobility operators. The City’s original procurement process for the current iteration of the pilot program was incredibly thorough and judicious. Potentially issuing a temporary permit for only a few months to a fifth operator will only confuse the public and micromobility users. Additionally, bringing in a new operator may detrimentally affect the perception of the program as the new operator lags in ramping up operations, familiarizing themselves with local regulations, and building the working relationships necessary to operate successfully in the City and with local regulators.
2. Include an employee-based operation model as a program selection priority: The state of the micromobility industry has evolved a lot over the past five years. Veo firmly believes that it is incumbent on a micromobility provider to not only be a responsible operator, but a responsible employer as well. This means hiring local employees to carry out all aspects of operations - from battery charging, to vehicle maintenance, to device rebalancing. Veo hires W2 employees and offers them full benefits starting Day 1 on the job. Not only is being a job creator and working to uplift one’s local community socially and ethically responsible, but it's also responsible from a safety aspect as well. No franchise or gig economy worker should have to utilize their private residence or lease their own warehouse to repair and charge batteries. Vehicle operations should be conducted by trained employees in a controlled, safe environment, with constant and consistent supervision. The City has done a commendable job in standing up fair program regulations that work for the operator and the community. A full W2 workforce is the best solution to maintaining a cohesive and tidy shared mobility program amongst operators and on the streets of Santa Monica. The City should prioritize the creation of good, stable jobs with full employee benefits from its contracted shared mobility providers.
Sincerely,
Nick Efron
Policy & Partnerships Manager, Veo
Santa Monica, CA
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