OLD BUSINESS  2.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

KEY INTENDED OUTCOME:
Ensure Comprehensive Mobility Addressing All Modes Throughout The City

HISTORY:

This item was referred to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) by Commissioner Michael Gongora at the July 25, 2018 City Commission meeting. At its September 26, 2018 meeting, the NCAC directed the Administration to monitor the pilot programs in Miami-Dade County and research the potential use of bike lanes. The item has been deferred on subsequent NCAC agendas pending the outcome of the pilot programs in other cities and a bill in the Florida Legislature.

In the last few years, the popularity and use of electric scooters in the U.S. has grown and more people are using electric scooters as a more convenient means of active transportation that can provide first mile/last mile connectivity to/from transit stations/stops and an alternative to walking or biking for short-range trips.

Given the popularity and growing use of electric scooters as a mobility device, the Florida Legislature recently passed House Bill 453/Senate Bill 542 governing electric scooters.  The new law has created a definition for the term micromobility device and has revised the definition for the term motorized scooter to include any vehicle or micromobility device (irrespective of whether it has a seat or saddle for the use of the rider), which is designed to travel on not more than three wheels, and is powered by a motor not capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed greater than 20 miles per hour on level ground. 

The operator of this device is not required to satisfy the registration or insurance requirements set forth in Florida Statute Section 320.02[TS1], nor is such a device operator required to have a driver’s license to operate such vehicles.  Additionally, the operators of these devices are not required to satisfy the licensing requirements identified in Florida Statute Section 316.605, and these scooters are also excluded from the additional equipment requirements for slow-moving vehicles, as delineated in Florida Statute Section 316.2225.

Moreover, operators of these devices have all the rights and duties of a bicycle rider which includes the operation of such vehicles on streets, in bike lanes, and on sidewalks.  However, a local government may exercise its regulatory authority and adopt an ordinance with respect to the operation of these scooters on streets, highways, sidewalks and sidewalk areas under a local government’s jurisdiction.

At this time, it has not been determined if the City would have authority to prohibit e-scooters from using the sidewalks of state roads under FDOT jurisdiction in our City, (i.e. Collins Avenue, 41^st Street, 5^th Street, Alton Road, 63^rd Street, 71^st Street, Indian Creek Drive, Abbott Avenue, and Harding Avenue).  This is a matter that requires further investigation by our City Attorney's Office.

ANALYSIS:

The cities of Coral Gables and Miami are the only two municipalities in Miami-Dade County that are currently engaged in pilot programs for electric scooter rental and operation in the public rights-of-way, as described below.

City of Coral Gables

Coral Gables became the first city in Florida to allow electric scooters to operate on sidewalks. Coral Gables has been engaged in a e-scooter pilot program at no cost to the City with two vendors simultaneously - Spin (since August 2018) and Bird (since October 2018).  Spin is providing both electric scooters and electric-assisted bicycles as part of its pilot program, while Bird is only providing electric scooter rentals currently.  The cost to the user to rent an electric scooter from either Spin or Bird is $1.00 to unlock the e-scooter and $0.15 per minute until the e-scooter is locked and the trip is closed. 

Prior to the passing of the new law, electric scooters in Coral Gables were not allowed to operate on travel lanes or bike lanes and could only be operated on sidewalks, except on Miracle Mile and Giralda Plaza, where they are prohibited due to high pedestrian activity.  Scooters are deployed daily by each vendor at about 7AM and collected at about 8PM.  Coral Gables has requested that users park e-scooters at or near a bike rack and on the edge of sidewalks clear of pedestrians' path. 

Coral Gables has advised that the number of complaints and accidents involving electric scooters is minimal in comparison to their usage.  For example, in February 2019, Bird reported that it had deployed 73 electric scooters in Coral Gables, primarily near the University of Miami campus and Douglas Metrorail station, and a total of 19,833 trips were registered on its electric scooters during the pilot program which ended this January 2019.  The average trip length on a Bird electric scooter was about 1.15 miles and no reported accidents as of end of January 2019.  In February 2019, Spin reported that it had deployed 79 electric scooters in Coral Gables, primarily in the Central Business District, and registered a total of 19,906 trips on its electric scooters during the pilot program, which also ended in January 2019.  The average trip length on a Spin electric scooter was about 0.93 miles.  In February 2019, Spin reported five accidents and no injuries as of end of January 2019.

Since the inception of its pilot programs, the City of Coral Gables has received few complaints from its residents and businesses with regard to electric scooters blocking the sidewalks or pedestrian pathways, speeding on the sidewalks, or being dumped illegally on private property.  Coral Gables considers both pilot programs to be successful and has extended the pilot programs with both vendors until spring when it plans to issue a competitive solicitation for a vendor to provide the services for the City on a long-term basis.  Coral Gables staff has recommended that only one vendor be selected to operate in the City and that a cap be placed on the number of electric scooters allowed to operate in the City.  The ongoing pilot programs will help determine the maximum number of e-scooters that could be deployed and sustained in the City.

Attachment A includes the City of Coral Gables Ordinance on Electric Scooters and Attachment B includes the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Coral Gables and Spin.

City of Miami

In March 2019, pursuant to a competitive solicitation, City of Miami initiated a six month pilot program with six qualified vendors for electric scooter rentals within City Commission District 2, which includes Wynwood, Midtown, Downtown, Brickell, and Coconut Grove.  As part of the application process, each vendor was required to remit to the City a non-refundable licensing fee of $50,000 intended to offset the City's cost of police, parking, and code enforcement within the pilot program area.  Any excess funds from the licensing fee would be used to fund sidewalk and street improvements within the pilot program area.  Further, each vendor participating in the pilot program is required to remit to the City a fee of $1.00 per scooter per day.  The fee will be used to fund street and sidewalk improvements within the pilot program area.  While the City of Miami initially allowed each vendor to deploy only 50 e-scooters, the City has increased the amount to 125 e-scooters per vendor. 

The City of Miami has adopted an ordinance for the e-scooter pilot program and potential long-term implementation, which, among other things, establishes rules and regulations for riding, operating, and parking e-scooters on streets and sidewalks; provides for insurance and indemnification; and establishes penalties and fines (Attachment C). 

Miami’s pilot program is scheduled to terminate in September 2019.  At this time, interim results of the pilot program have not been disclosed.

E-Scooter Concerns/Issues - Other Cities

Attachment D (Current “Micromobility” Safety and Complaints) provided by Citibike references a variety of safety issues and complaints experienced with e-scooters in other cities around the nation over the last year.  The cities include: San Francisco, CA; San Diego, CA; Tempe, AZ; Cleveland, OH; St. Louis, MO; Washington D.C.; Fort Lauderdale, FL.; and Orlando, FL.  There are a variety of safety issues and related complaints that raise concerns with allowing this mobility option in Miami Beach.

CONCLUSION:

From an operational and safety perspective, the Administration continues to have concerns regarding issues related to sidewalk clutter and illegal placement and dumping of dockless devices.  Given the high level of pedestrian activity on many sidewalks in Miami Beach, at a minimum, the Administration would not recommend authorizing the use of these devices in high pedestrian areas such as South Beach, along beachwalks and baywalks, and in areas where other motorized mobility devices (such as Segways) are currently prohibited by City ordinance.