Welcome to Shared Mobility Inc. (SMI)’s April update on Informing Electric Micromobility (EMM) Policy Through Demonstrations & Planning, a NYSERDA funded project. This past month, we have been preparing for a summer of EMM pilot demonstration programming and working closely with our partners at the University at Buffalo.
EMM news updates
Shared e-scooters are coming to New York City. The City’s DOT announced that Bird, Lime, and VeoRide will be the three operators permitted in this year’s scooter pilot program.
Since 2019, Staten Island has been working with bikeshare operator Beryl to bring bikeshare to the borough. However, with only a few weeks before this month’s scheduled launch, Beryl reneged on their commitment to provide bikesharing services in the borough. In response, Staten Islanders staged a protest on the steps of Borough Hall demanding that a new bikeshare operator be found.
Bikeshare operator Hopr is abruptly ending their service in Orlando this month. The company announced that they will not be renewing their permit to operate bikeshare in the city.
E-Bike prices are rising as a 25% tariff on imported e-bikes from China has gone into effect. The tariffs along with other factors are leading to price increases of $100-$200 on e-bikes.
After losing its non-profit run B-Cycle bikeshare program in 2019, Denver has been left without consistent bikesharing services. This year, Denver is planning on bringing in Lyft and Lime to operate the city’s EMM (including e-bikes and e-scooters).
In Houston, sidewalk scooter rental vendors have now been kicked out amidst complaints of vendors blocking sidewalks and criticism that these vendors encourage novice riders to ride dangerously.
University at Buffalo studio updates
The following is an update from this project’s accompanying University at Buffalo urban planning graduate studio course:
The class is getting ready for their final presentation. So far, students had their mid-semester presentation where they received helpful feedback on their work thus far. We would like to thank Professor Daniel Hess, Dr. Lisa Kenney, representatives of Shared Mobility Inc. and our staff from UBRI for their insightful comments during the mid-semester review. The students and the faculty instructor for the studio had a wonderful experience riding the e-bikes and e-scooters, and are now working on proffering some planning and policy suggestions for EMM piloting and implementation in Buffalo, NY.
The UB Planning studio is utilizing a comparative policy analysis to help inform their EMM policy recommendations. EMM policies from a handful of cities have been compared based on the below policy principles.
