DEPARTMENT: Center City Development and Operations
DEPARTMENT HEAD: John Jacks
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Amendments to the Dockless Vehicle Pilot Program
SUMMARY:
Amendments to the six month Dockless Vehicle Pilot Program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On October 11, 2018, City Council adopted a six month pilot program which created both a permitting structure and operational rules for dockless vehicles. These regulations established rules for how companies are allowed to deploy vehicles in the right-of-way and clarified rules for users related to riding and parking vehicles. CCDO is monitoring the program and coordinating enforcement during the pilot program period. On January 22nd, the Transportation Committee endorsed amendments to the pilot program. These amendments will mitigate issues identified at the halfway point of the six month pilot program.
Dockless vehicles are a new transportation mode that includes GPS enabled bicycles, electric assisted bicycles, or electric scooters. These vehicles are introduced by private companies who place them in the city's right-of-way so they can be used by customers or subscribers through a phone application. The first company to launch service in San Antonio was Bird which entered the market on June 22, 2018. Several companies have since launched, with Lime launching service on July 25th, Razor launched service on October19th, and Jump introduced electric bicycles and scooters on January 15th. These companies have all since obtained permits to operate under the pilot program. Through December, there have been approximately 1.2 million rides in our market across all companies in operation.
In addition, the City has received permit applications from other operators, including Spin which has obtained a permit to operate 500 scooters, but has not yet established a launch date. A summary of the operators who have been issued permits and the number of vehicles they are allowed to introduce...
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