Co-Mobility Forum: E-scooter Sharing: Pilots, Plans and Regulation

Agenda

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• Travel Behaviour • Safety• Operations• Regulation• Hearing from Briana Orr from the

Portland Board of Transportation on their experiences with e-Scooters

• Hearing from Emma Silver, from operator Bird

Travel Behaviour

• Quicker, cheaper and lighter than previous personal electric modes (Segway, Sinclair C5).

• 1.6-mile avg trip length, avg speed of 7.5 mph and top speed of 15mph.

• Avg trip time 12- 18 minutes

• Up to 5-6 rides per day in Santa Monica, high utilisation.

• A battery range of ~20 miles but increasing.

E-Scooters by numbers…

Safety• E-Scooters present their own

unique challenges: quieter, smaller wheels, open for misuse (drunk riders etc), inexperienced riders.

• Companies are taking pro-active approach, in-app messages, subsided helmets, talk-of rear-mounted cameras.

• How to manage this comes down their place in the urban realm, where they can be used.

Models of Operation

• As with dockless bikes e-Scooter companies have taken a cavalier approach – better to seek forgiveness that ask permission.

• Initially started out with pilot permit programmes, often with more than one company.

• Rental fee with pay-by-the-minute fee. Photo on return of unit.

Cont’d

• Dock-less/free-floating accessed via GPS & mobile phone.

• Batteries charged overnight by members of the public or private companies to be returned to the street the following morning.

• Slip, trip and fall hazard if not parked correctly, parking infrastructure is entering the fray.

Parking (expanded)

• Critical issue for the public acceptability and viability of these schemes.

• Some advocate for ‘semi-dockless’. More space efficient than bikes- 24 scooters in one parking space.

• Parking stations exist which use solar charging and can accommodate all scooter companies.

• Suggestions of parking capacity for 25% of units in a scheme.

E-Scooters by numbers

E-Scooters by numbers

Regulation• In comparison to previous SMOs

E-Scooter companies have taken a more proactive approach to advocacy work.

• Lime- ‘Respect the Ride Campaign’.

• Main argument revolves round where they can be used.

• SMOs are incorporating the type of advocacy associated with cycling activism.

UK Regulatory context

• Currently illegal in the UK.

• Under review by the DfT. Possible scope of the review may include:

1. Speed limits

2. Where they can be used

3. Age of ridership

4. Local authorities' ability to regulate

5. Insurance and licensing…

Germany Regulatory context

• Currently illegal in Germany, but soon to changed once through the upper house.

• It would allow e-scooters with a maximum top speed of 7.5 mph to operate on sidewalks, bike paths and in pedestrian zones. Such scooters could be operated by anyone 12 years of age or older.

• E-scooters with a top speed of 20 kph would be limited to operation on designated bike paths or bike lanes. The minimum operator age for such vehicles would be 14.

Thank you

The Portland E-Scooter ExperienceBriana Orr, Portland Bureau of Transportation

• Context and Pilot Facts

• Data Sources

• Pilot Findings

• Next Steps

• Questions & Discussion

Overview

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N

Context: Managing change in an evolving city

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Context: What are e-scooters and how

do they work?

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 18

Assess the potential of a new transportation option.

Assess whether and how e-scooters can help:

• Reduce private motor vehicle use and

congestion

• Prevent fatalities and injuries

• Expand access for underserved communities

• Reduce air pollution, including climate pollution

Context: Pilot goals

Data Sources

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 20

• Company-provided availability, trip, collision, complaint data

• User survey

• Multnomah County Health Department

• Public opinion poll by DHM Research

• Three separate focus groups

• Reported injuries

• Community feedback and complaints

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 21

Pilot Facts & Overview

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 22

Pilot Findings: 71% of surveyed users said they used e-scooters for transportation

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 23

Pilot Findings: E-scooters at evening peak

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 24

Pilot Findings: 34% Driving and ride-hailing trip replacement

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 25

Pilot Findings: E-Scooters attracted new people to active transportation

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 26

Pilot Findings: 62% of Portlanders viewed e-scooters positively

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 27

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 28

Pilot Findings: Users prefer to ride on bikeways

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 29

Pilot Findings: 44,000+ Trips in East Portland

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 30

Pilot Findings: Sidewalk riding reduced comfort for people walking

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 31

Pilot Findings: Improperly parked scooters negatively impacted accessibility

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 32

Pilot Findings: Low company performance in equity goals

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 33

Pilot Findings: E-Scooter-related injuries

= 5% of total traffic-related injuries during pilot period

Assess the potential of a new transportation option.

Assess whether and how e-scooters can help:

• Reduce private motor vehicle use and

congestion

• Prevent fatalities and injuries

• Expand access for underserved communities

• Reduce air pollution, including climate pollution

Summary: Pilot goals

More opportunities for analysis

Download route data: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/709688

Endpoint data – coming soon!

New one-year pilot beginning 4/26

Next Steps

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 36

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N . G O V / T R A N S P O R T A T I O N 37

Questions?

Briana Orr

E-Scooter Pilot Project Manager

briana.orr@portlandoregon.gov

portlandoregon.gov/transportation/e-scooter

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Background on Bird

What is Bird?

Bird is a last-mile electric vehicle sharing

company dedicated to bringing affordable,

environmentally friendly transport solutions to

communities across the world.

Mission

Since first offering our vehicles to communities in

2017, we have proudly worked toward our mission

of making cities more livable by reducing car

usage, traffic, and emissions.

Metro | Bus | Bikes | Bird

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Bird is helping cities

• Provide affordable transport

• Reduce emissions

• Reduce congestion

• Reduce parking problems

• Invest in shared infrastructure

• Promote local industry

• Increase access to transport

in underserved areas

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Bird is easy: Find a Bird, scan, and go!

Bird is inexpensive: £1 to unlock, per minute fee

How we work

Riding Instructions

Become a Bird charger and earn

Step 1: Find and capture scooters on bounty

Step 2: Charge the captured scooters with the

company-provided charging cable

Step 3: Release the charged scooters into

designated ‘nests’ on street

Step 4: Get paid per scooter you charge

and release

Bird employs fleet management teams and also works

with a network of trained chargers and mechanics in the

local markets where we operate.

For every 1,000 Birds in cities in the USA we see

$2.5M

Annual earnings received by chargers

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Opportunities for contract workers

Economic impact

Bird watchers

Employees who are dedicated to:

• Removing Birds out of the public right of way

• Making adjustments to their location by placing

them in safer areas

• Engaging with Bird riders to educate them on safe

riding practices

• Removing damaged Birds

Safety ambassadors

Deployed to educate riders and community

members and to help promote a safe and

equitable service.

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Events & awareness

In communities where Bird operates, we are committed

to:

• Hosting regular safety events to nurture strong

community relations and engage at the local level to

implement, enhance, and promote safe riding

• Organising events to give away helmets

• Using online advertising and social media campaigns

to promote safety and rider education

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Technology

Sharing data

Insights to inform and educate overall operations.

API Endpoints - vehicle status and trip data.

Aggregated and categorized complaints and reports.

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In-app communication

Before beginning their first ride, all Bird riders must first complete

an in-app tutorial focused on safety and rider education.

Community mode

Frictionless, intuitive feature enabling anyone to report bad parking and nest drops.

Parking

• We are currently able to create in-app “No

Parking” zones to educate riders of areas

where they are not allowed to park

• These “No Parking” zones prohibit riders

from ending rides when not in an approved

parking zone

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Case studies

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

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50 Birds

3,800 miles travelled

14.5 minutes (average journey time)

2 tons saving of CO2 if journeys had been made by car

33% of business residents and students used Bird

London, UK

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33% of trips are done in combination with bus, subway or train

5% Of the population of Paris has tried a Bird

70% of trips are to commute or run errands

83% of Parisians want more transport options, such as

‘floating’ mobility services like ours

Paris, France

Bird globally

Available in more than 100 cities around

the world, our operations team is fully-

committed to providing support to

communities, spanning: City officials,

riders, chargers, mechanics, and residents

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Thank you