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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/6/2022 - Memorandum From Rachel Ruhlen, Cortney Geary, And Aaron Iverson Re: Fort Collins E-Scooter And E-Bike Share Program 2022 Annual Report FC Moves Department 200 W. Mountain Ave. P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.221.6705 fcgov.com//fcmoves FC Moves Planning, Development & Transportation MEMORANDUM DATE: November 22, 2022 TO: Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers THRU: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Caryn Champine, PDT Service Area Director FROM: Rachel Ruhlen, Transportation Planner Cortney Geary, Active Modes Manager Aaron Iverson, FC Moves Senior Manager RE: Fort Collins E-scooter and E-bike Share Program 2022 Annual Report Purpose The purpose of this memo is to provide background information on the following report analyzing the first year of the Spin e-scooter and e-bike share program in Fort Collins. Background Shared micromobility, such as the Spin e-scooter and e-bike share program in Fort Collins, offers ease of use, bridges the gap with public transportation, and reduces vehicular traffic congestion. Shared micromobility has a long history in Fort Collins for such a relatively new innovation, starting with the Bike Library in 2008. In July 2021, the City of Fort Collins, in partnership with Colorado State University, selected Spin through a competitive Request for Proposals process to operate an e-scooter and e-bike share in Fort Collins on a one-year contract renewable up to f ive years. Fort Collins is a national leader in this rapidly evolving industry. As such, City staff believe it is important to monitor the program closely. Per our contract with Spin, City staff are regularly provided with data about the service. The Fort Collins E-scooter and E-bike Share Program 2022 Annual Report is attached. DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 1 Fort Collins has a long history of bike share starting with the homegrown Bike Library, one of several early bike share systems that gave rise to modern dockless bike and scooter share. As the industry skyrocketed and entered new markets, micro-mobility share has continued to thrive and evolve in Fort Collins. The benefits of e-bike and e-scooter share include convenient transportation, economic im- pact, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Livability is one of three tenets of the Vision of Fort Collins’ City Plan, and one aspect of livability is “convenient transportation”. As convenient transportation, e-bike and e-scooter share is: • Public transportation. • A flexible way of getting around without fear of theft or needing to store or maintain a device. • A way to travel that doesn’t add to traffic congestion. • A way to travel that produces less emissions than motor vehicles. • Complements transit; users can ride to and from the bus stop without needing to secure their own bike or load it on the bus, and Spin devices operate when the buses have stopped. • Helps fill the transportation gap with fewer buses running because of the driver shortage. Report Contents Page Overview of Shared E-bike/E-scooters 2 The First Year 3 Equity 6 Connection to Our Climate Future 7 Safety 8 Parking 9 Next Steps 10 Attachment: Letter from Colorado State University, Parking and Transportation Services Fort Collins E-scooter and E-bike Share Program 2022 Annual Report DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 2 In 2021, the City of Fort Collins, in partnership with Col- orado State University, selected Spin through a com- petitive process to operate e-scooter and e-bike share in Fort Collins on a one-year contract renewable up to five years. E-bikes and e-scooters are operated by for-profit private businesses. Selecting only one oper- ator to be licensed through a competitive bid process gives the City the ability to require and negotiate and enables a revenue-share to help the City support the program. The Fort Collins system, operated by Spin, is “dock- less” which offers more flexibility and system access than station-based systems. With a dockless system riders start their ride after finding the nearest device to them and end the ride at their destination. Fort Collins is part of a national effort to understand how share programs like this interact with the existing transportation system, the public right-of-way, and current laws and regulations. This annual report will review the following: Usage and trip pat- terns, community partnerships, equity efforts, climate impacts, safety review and parking. Below is a summary of the program status: Overview of Shared E-bike/E-scooters Spin Launch and Ribbon Cutting, July 2021 To rent an e-bike or e-scooter, riders: 1. Download the app 2. Enter payment information 3. Scan the QR code and ride 4. Submit a photo of the parked vehicle to end the ride How is Spin Doing? Ridership Strong Community Partners Strong Equity Strong, room for improvement Climate Impact Strong Safety Better tracking needed Parking Needs improvement Renting Instructions Evolution of Micro-Mobility Share in Fort DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 3 The First Year During the first year, the Spin system had over 30,000 unique riders, over a quarter of a million trips, resulting in 400,000 miles traveled, outperform- ing previous bike share and scooter share efforts in Fort Collins. Accord- ing to one estimate*, Fort Collins ranks 8th in the nation on the with 4.7 trips per day per 1,000 population (for comparison, Boulder currently ranks 11th at 3 trips per day per 1,000 population). When surveyed (see link to survey), almost 80% of Spin riders said they use the service monthly or more often. E-scooters are more popular than e-bikes, as shown in the graphs below. Distance doesn’t affect which de- vice users choose: the average trip length was 1 mile for both e-scooter and e-bike trips. Spin Program Year One Numbers Use by Type of Device Device Types tried at Least Once 500 e-scooters 30,348 unique riders 200 e-bikes 271,114 trips 1 mile average trip length 409,795 miles traveled *Ride Report is a shared mobility data tracking service that compared cities that use Ride Report. DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 4 The First Year Trip Patterns The map below shows a “heat map” of trips being made by Spin devices. The darker the color the more trip activity, and as expected trips are concentrated in and around CSU and downtown. Analysis of the ride report data reflects this as well showing in the first year (Aug 1- July 31) the following: • 30% of all trips ended at CSU. • 31% of all trips ended in a commercial district. • 17% of all trips ended in the commercial downtown district. The intensity of trips on CSU campus highlights the importance of CSU as a partner in the e-bike/e-scooter share program. The efficiency of shared de- vices in a crowded environment and the rampant bike theft make college campuses ideal markets for e-bike/e- scooter share. Without CSU, the market might not be able to support e-bike/e-scooter share. The presence of the CSU mar- ket base allows all of Fort Collins to have access to the program. Heat Map of Spin Device Use Trips Per Day Trips decrease during winter and are highest in warmer months and when CSU is in session. Number of total trips DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 5 The First Year Spin has proven to be a strong community partner during the first year of operations. Spin is a regular presence at community events such as the Juneteenth Celebration, Bike to Work (or Wherever) Day, Open Streets, as well as at CSU on-campus events such as We Ride and three Bike to Breakfast events. Spin has hosted several demos with employers, including CSU and the City, where employees could try out Spin devices. Spin supports move-in tours for CSU students who don’t have their own bike or are interested in trying Spin. This removed barriers so the program could be provided to anyone who was interested. In August 2022, CSU and Spin provided four tours attended by 20 international students, 22 first-year students, and 19 graduate students. Spin provided a bike to a travel blogger who then featured both Spin and Fort Collins in the “Great Escapes” section of the Women’s Edition magazine. Spin provided bikes to visiting international travel professionals, bolstering their experience and impressions of Fort Collins. Additionally, earlier this year Spin provided 30 bicycles free of charge to Arkansas mayors visiting Northern Colorado, for a tour of Fort Collins and CSU. 30 Mayors from Arkansas on Spin Bikes Community Partnerships DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 6 Equity Spin, per our contract, provides a discount for in- come-qualified riders and provides adaptive devices for people with disabilities. The two programs set up to achieve these requirements are Spin Access and Spin Adaptive. Spin Access The Spin Access program provides a way for users to access Spin e-bikes and e-scooters in ways other than via a smartphone and the app. The Access program also provides a discount for qualified riders. Alterna- tive access options include: • Spin Cash cards for unbanked riders without a credit or debit card, PayPal, or Google Pay. • A text option for riders who do not have a smartphone with a data plan. The table below shows the success of the Spin Access program in the first year. Additionally, the City received a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation in 2022 and distribut- ed one-year Community Spin passes to 75 income qualified residents through GetFoCo. Spin Adaptive Through Spin Adaptive, residents may request an adaptive bike to be delivered to the location they designate for up to a day, free of charge. In the first year, Spin has fulfilled 78 requests for adaptive devices. Future efforts to extend the reach of these programs include: • Monitor the reception and use of Community Spin passes distributed to 75 income qualified residents. • Identify areas with high Health-Equity Index that could be prioritized for deployment. • Identify satellite locations where Spin Cash cards can be purchased more conveniently. • Fort Collins could consider reducing the minimum number of e-bikes in the system, which are more maintenance-intensive than e-scooters, so more resources could go to the Spin Adaptive program. Spin Access Promotional Material Examples of Adaptive Devices “Oh my gosh, the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The men who deliver it to me are awesome, knowledgeable and so happy. And you, Jimmy, always seem to go above and beyond.” - Ann, adaptive device user Spin Access Use Number of First Year Users 71 Highest Ridership (July)480 Spin Access: Year One Numbers DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 7 Our Climate Future E-bike and e-scooter share support Our Climate Future goals of providing a convenient alternative to car trips. Spin provides data on emissions avoided, per our contract. In addition to reducing emissions by replacing car trips with Spin rides, the Spin program has indirect effects on emissions reduc- tions. Demos give people a chance to ride Spin devices, lowering the barrier to using Spin regularly or acquiring their own e-bikes or e-scooters. Furthermore, every motor vehicle removed from the road reduces traffic congestion and those that remain, including mass transit, operate more cleanly and efficiently. Spin’s uses two electric vans for most of its transportation of devices, with a box truck that is used less frequently. Spin is on track for achieving 24-month life-cycle for devices. Spin recycles all components of devices that are retired. Future Considerations Spin is investigating options to store batteries in satellite locations so that devices don’t need to be moved all the way back to the warehouse for a fresh battery before being redeployed. FC Moves and Spin will continue to study options to reduce Spin’s climate impact. Spin Electric Van Estimated Emission Savings by Month • 34% of Spin trips replace car trips* • Spin riders avoided an estimated 12.2 metric tons of CO2 emissions during the first year** *Rider survey (see link) ** Estimates provided by Spin, adjusted for 34% mode shift Climate Impacts, By the Numbers DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 8 Safety During the first year, few incidents related to the Spin pro- gram were reported; however, crashes involving people us- ing active modes are known to be underreported and some Spin riders are concerned about safety risk, perhaps related to the lack of safe infrastructure or their lack of experience with e-bikes and e-scooters. Incidents were reported directly to Spin, FC Moves, or through police reports. The reported safety issues in the first year (through August 2022) includ- ed: • Seven reports of accidents or injuries. • A collision between a Spin e-scooter and a pedestrian that occurred on a sidewalk. • One police report of a collision involving an SUV driver and a rider on a Spin e-scooter. Safety Measures Spin and the City are committed to safety, working in these focus areas: Safe Vehicles Spin, per our contract, inspects devices frequently. Spin received 196 maintenance requests in the first year. Safe People Spin promotes safe behavior with: • Messaging • Events • Penalties • Speed governors Safe Routes • The Active Modes Plan identifies safe and connected networks. • Vision Zero Action Plan strategies to eliminate fatalities/serious injuries. Speed Restrictions: By Type and Location Roads Trails CSU Slow Zones E-Bikes 20 mph 15 mph 8 mph E-Scooters 15 mph NA 8 mph Note: Spin uses geofencing to control speed and operation of devices. Rider SurveySource: DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 9 Parking & Relocation Spin, per our contract, is required to relocate devices within two hours of a request and to penalize users for improper parking. Shared e-bikes and e-scooters are a relatively new use that has been permitted to use the public right-of-way. While e-bikes and e-scooters require less parking space than motor vehicles, parking remains a challenging issue, especially in areas of the City with limited options. Spin conducts routine re-balancing, which is critical for clearing improperly parked devices that may not be reported. Enforcement FC Moves and Spin have worked together to make it easier for residents to submit requests and complaints. These measures resulted in a three-fold increase in requests and complaints, as shown below: Tier 1: 1st offense – warning (25 issued in the first two months) Tier 2: 2nd offense – 1-day suspension (4 users suspend in the first two months) Tier 3: 3rd offense – permanent suspension,can be ap- pealed; minimum 15-day suspension (2 users banned in the first two months) Note: Idle time is how long a device has sat inactive Poorly Parked e-scooter Fleet Idle Time Median idle time across the fleet 23 hours Typical number of devices idle 3 days 3% (60 devices) Typical number of devices idle 7 days 0.5% (4 devices) • Spin received 157 requests to relocate devices in the first year. • 65% of requests are to relocate PROPERLY parked devices. To contact Spin email: fortcollinsops@spinteam.pm text: 970-387-2799 Properly Parked e-bike Properly Parked e-scooter DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 page 10 FC Moves looks forward to working with our partners at CSU and Spin and to continue building a successful and safe shared e-bike/e-scooter program, the City and CSU will continue to: • Analyze ridership trends and heat maps provided by Spin. • Survey Spin riders. • Study potential policy and ordinance changes and make recommendations. • Study parking behavior and develop, implement, and evaluate countermeasures. • Monitor complaints. The following timeline shows how these efforts will be implemented. Improved parking compliance remains a high priority. Blocking sidewalks and bike lanes is unacceptable and could jeopardize the long-term success of the program. FC Moves is currently conducting a study to establish a baseline of parking behaviors against which countermeasures can be evaluated. An important part of this study is to quantify the problem, particularly the barriers devices pose for people with disabilities. This study is anticipated to be completed by December 2022. In early 2023, FC Moves will work with Spin to evaluate and implement countermeasures, such as: • Establish preferred parking areas in certain neighborhoods • Policy, ordinance and/or traffic codes changes, to allow more options for safe and legal parking • Enhanced monitoring • Improved and more signs • Additional user education • Enhanced penalties and/or legal action for non-compliant users Spin’s first renewal with the city runs through June 30, 2023, at which point we have the ability to work with Spin to draft a new oper- ating agreement for its third year (of poten- tially five years) in Fort Collins. To be eligible for renewal, Spin must demonstrate good faith effort in operating the program, includ- ing parking management. Next Steps Spin Device users in Action Photo Credit: Marketa Jancar Spin Program Timeline DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3 September 30, 2022 Dear Fort Collins City Council Members, I manage Colorado State University’s contract with Spin and am writing today in support of their service to our students, employees and community. The availability of bike and scooter share complements the use of transit and other active modes for Fort Collins residents while saving greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion that could occur if those same trips were taken by personal automobile. Trips starting or ending on a CSU campus make up approximately 70% of Spin rides system-wide. As a proponent of sustainable transportation modes, Spin e-bikes and e-scooters fill an important gap in our transportation system – particularly for short trips or last mile connections from transit. Over half of CSU students report a non-driving mode as their primary form of transportation (whether that is transit, bicycling or walking) and services such as Spin help to support their car-free or car-light lifestyle, for trips on and off campus. During peak times, we see up to 8,000 trips per week starting or ending on campus. After losing our bike share system, Zagster, during the height of the pandemic, CSU was eager to coordinate with the City to bring bike share and back to Fort Collins. In that coordinated RFP process, we selected Spin because of their staffing model (hiring local, dedicated staff), strong community engagement and their adaptive bike program, bringing free access to adaptive vehicles to community members who need them. In the past year, Spin has delivered on these promises and has proven to be a responsive and engaged partner. While I know you have heard recent complaints about improperly parked vehicles, the vast majority of trips are taken lawfully, respectfully and without incident. Due to CSU’s dense environment and plentiful bike parking, we require Spin vehicles on our campuses to park at bike racks and use Spin’s geofencing technology to designate no-ride and no-park zones. When we encounter issues with improper parking, Spin has worked side-by-side with us to educate our riders, add messaging to problem areas and reconfigure geofences to address the problem. They also may revoke riding privileges of repeat offenders. We have only had to revoke privileges on a handful of occasions and find that most riders change their behavior after they receive targeted outreach from Spin. I hope the City and CSU can continue to work with Spin to offer a citywide service that benefits so many in our community while utilizing these tools to manage riding and parking behavior. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or would like to hear more about our experience with Spin. Sincerely, Erika Benti Active Transportation Professional CSU Parking and Transportation Services DocuSign Envelope ID: F0A03033-6B0D-4895-9293-E97D46D53EA3