1. Shared Mobility Devices
Patricia Carroll 
Legislative Director, County Manager's Office
Presenting to Virginia Municipal League
2019 Annual Conference

2. What is it?
Various terms in use: micromobility, dockless bikeshare, scootershare, etc. Arlington County uses “Shared Mobility Devices” (SMDs).
Includes stand-up escooters and e-bikes
Customer downloads an operator app, finds a device in the app, and when finished, parks anywhere within reason.

3. Why allow SMDs? New transportation option
First/last-mile connection to transit
Encourage non-single occupancy vehicle trips
Improve air quality
Decrease congestion
Another tool for Transportation Demand Management

4. Background in Arlington County
June 2018
Bird enters Arlington with 500 escooters before pilot program launched
September 2018
Arlington County Board approves pilot SMD program
June 2019
Arlington County Board extends pilot SMD program through December 31, 2019

5. Arlington Pilot Program
15-month pilot program
10/1/18-12/31/19
Initial fleet of 350 SMDs per company
Fleet size growth allowed with performance metrics
Add 50 SMDs if operator achieves 3 trips per device per day and compliant with other terms
Require ridership data from operators
$8,000 initial permit fee and $5,000 for pilot extension
$5,000 surety bond to remove devices if operator goes bankrupt

6. Regional Coordination
Pilot regulations drafted in consultation with regional partners
Looked at world-wide best practices
Want nearly identical regulations and data-sharing requirements to limit confusion among the public and increase cooperation among the companies

7. Public Outreach
Presentations to numerous public committees, commissions, and civic groups
Web page with information about the pilot program
for public input
In-depth online feedback form to inform pilot program evaluation

8. Complaints have declined throughout pilot period
Challenges
Top four challenges
Sidewalk riding
Improper parking
Unsafe behavior
Safety
Complaints have declined throughout pilot period

9. How to address challenges
Education
In-app messaging most effective per County evaluation
Arlington Public Schools informed parents of escooter regulations
Public events which allowed people to try a device and learn about the pilot program

10. County built 10 on-street corrals
SMD Corrals
County built 10 on-street corrals
High density corridors near Metrorail and transit stops
Allowing operators to deploy as many devices as will fit into corrals dramatically increased usage
Built with temporary materials
Operators include corrals in apps and one operator provides an incentive

11. How to Attract Operators
Reach out and demonstrate a willingness to work with them
Invest in more bicycle infrastructure

12. How to Pay? Permit fee How much to charge?
Flat fee ($13,000 for 15 months)
Per device fee (considering one for permanent ordinance)
How much to charge?
Future County fees will be enough to offset management costs

13. Operators provide discounted rates for low-income individuals
Equity
Operators provide discounted rates for low-income individuals
Some offer cash payment options
Considering equity zones where operators must deploy percentage of their fleet similar to the city of Baltimore

14. Operators must provide live data feed to monitor fleet caps
Operators must provide monthly data reports to:
Show where people ride
Total miles and average miles traveled
Complaints from customers and general public
Crashes and injuries

15. Operators Overview Approved Operators and Fleet Sizes Operator e-bikes
Actual # on 9/6/19
(70 degrees, cloudy)
Operator
e-bikes
e-scooters
Jump
350 4
207
Spin 64
Lime
292
Bird
600
351
Skip 7
Lyft 56
Bolt 34
 TOTAL
 700
2,700
1,011

16. Operations and Use Comparison
Shared Mobility Devices (SMDs) & Capital Bikeshare
(10/18 – 6/19)
SMDs 
Capital Bikeshare 
Total Number of Trips in Arlington
435,690 
261,113 
Total Number of Miles  
409,548 
574,470 
Average Trip Length (miles) 
0.94 
2.01 
Average Trip Duration (minutes) 
14  19
Service level 
4.0 / 1,000 persons 
3.1 / 1,000 persons 

17. Enforcement Actions
Speed: During County testing, two operators were found not in compliance with the Pilot’s e-scooter speed limit. They were notified and their devices retested. Upon retest, the devices met the speed limit. 
Safety: One operator was suspended from the pilot after several of their e-scooters experienced a battery fire in D.C. but was recently reapproved to resume service.
Parking and deployment: Tracking reports of mis-parked vehicles, including at bus stops, and giving operators two hours to remove them, requesting removal of devices left in the public right-of-way for more than seven days. 
Data requirements: One operator was not providing required data in their monthly report. The County sent a notice to correct giving the operator seven days to provide the information or be suspended for a breach of the Memorandum of Agreement. The operator came into compliance with the MOA. 

18. Evaluation: Use Highlights
County staff and contractors created an in-depth evaluation using an online feedback form Scooter riders reported using SMDs most to access:
social activities and entertainment (21%)
shopping and errands (18%)
connecting to Metrorail (18%)

19. Evaluation: Use Highlights
Significant positive impact on reducing trips from ride-hailing and personal vehicles
19% of escooter riders would have otherwise used ride-hailing 
13% would have otherwise driven personal vehicle
Insignificant negative impact on transit use and Capital Bikeshare 
4% would have otherwise ridden a bicycle or Capital Bikeshare
3% would have otherwise taken a bus
2% would have otherwise taken Metrorail
While 37% of escooter riders would have otherwise walked, people still had to walk to find the device.

20. New state law
Existing pilot programs allowed to continue
Jurisdictions given latitude to regulate escooters and ebikes
Jurisdictions must pass ordinance by Dec 31, 2019 or else state law removes most current local restrictions

21. Conclusions Well-used and liked by users
Potential for community benefits
Key challenges where regulation and program refinement could improve performance include:
Parking
Speed
Sidewalk Riding
Equity
Communications and Education
Indicates need for better bicycle infrastructure

22. If No Action by January 1, 2020
Companies can distribute as many scooters as they choose, to any location in your locality;
Scooters can operate on sidewalks and all areas of your locality;
Scooters can operate at any speed less than 20 mph, even on sidewalks;
Parked scooters can block sidewalks, crosswalks, building entrances; Companies would not be required to pick up such scooters within a set time frame;
Localities would not collect fees to defray administrative costs of regulation or traffic enforcement;

23. Contact
Overall Project Lead:  Jim Larsen, Bureau Chief Arlington County Commuter Services Division of Transportation
Pilot Operations Lead: Paul DeMaio, Capital Bikeshare & Shared Mobility Manager, MetroBike Arlington County Commuter Services
Program Address:
Evaluation Report Lead:  Lama Bou Mjahed, Ph.D., Research Director, DS&MG Arlington County Commuter Services
Ordinance Lead: Ritch Viola, Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs Manager Division of Transportation

24. Additional Slides for Reference

25. Provision of HB 2752 (2019)
§ Powers of localities to regulate use of motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assisted bicycles for hire.
Any county, city, town, or political subdivision may (i) by ordinance regulate or (ii) by any governing body action or administrative action establish a demonstration project or pilot program regulating the operation of motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assisted bicycles for hire, provided that such regulation or other governing body or administrative action is consistent with this title. Such ordinance or other governing body or administrative action may require persons offering motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assisted bicycles for hire to be licensed, provided that on or after January 1, 2020, in the absence of any licensing ordinance, regulation, or other action, a person may offer motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assisted bicycles for hire.

26. Trips, Income and Location

27. Riding and Riding Preferences

28. Overall Trip Generation

29. Overall Fleet Size Fluctuation

30. Basic Crash Stats
69 reported escooter crashes during the 9-mo. pilot period (10/18 – 6/19); equivalent to a rate of 91 crashes for a full year
Scooter crashes resulted in 31 injuries
No reported fatalities
Crash rate (by miles) similar to pedestrians and bicycles, much lower than cars
Caveat: Likely underreported (similar to pedestrian and bicycle crashes)
Caveat: Difficult to compare to other modes
Caveat: Data for other modes also imperfect
Caveat: Requires normalization with rate to understand relative risk