Bike Share Roundtable Report by Anne Welch

BIKE SHARE ROUNDTABLE REPORT A report of the proceedings of the Atlanta Regional Comissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s June 2016 Active Transportation Roundtable

June 8, 2016 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...................................................................................................................page 3 Meeting Summary.........................................................................................................page 5 Bike Share Implementation Experiences................................................................... page 6 Bike Share in Local Communities................................................................................page 16 What can the ARC do to help bike share regionally?............................................page 24 Referenced Material...................................................................................................page 25 Recommended Reading............................................................................................page 30 Attendees.....................................................................................................................page 34

ARCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Active Transportation Roundtables are a forum for practitioners to demonstrate, learn, and connect. The meetings are co-hosted with the Georgia Chapter of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. Thanks to APBP for support and a special thanks to the speakers who shared their expertise and enthusiasm for growing metro Atlantaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transportation system. www.apbp.org/groups/Georgia www.atlatnaregional.com/bikeped

What has two wheels, a basket, and is an integral piece of a city’s transit system? Bike share has burst on to the national scene unlike very few transportation options before. I remember as a teenager a free bike share in our town, where dedicated volunteers spraypainted old bikes yellow and left them around for anyone to borrow and return. I can’t imagine any bike lasted more than a week but the idea, it appears, was sound. Only now twenty years later do we have the digital technology to make short-term, ondemand bike rentals viable. And cities all over the country are demonstrating how quick, convenient bike trips can become an integral piece of daily transportation. Our region’s first two bike share systems are located in small suburban centers and have demonstrated that practicality and simplicity can get a system built quickly. But the big city isn’t far behind and the City of Atlanta’s Relay bike share is demonstrating viability in a more complex environment. From a regional perspective, bike share is a fantastic tool for transportation in metro Atlanta. ARC’s regional “Walk Bike Thrive” plan is organized around supporting short daily trips – 1-3 miles for bikes – and bike share provides those quick trips that are the last-mile piece of our regional networks, both transit and driving. ARC will continue to support local bike share systems across metro Atlanta as a key piece of transportation and economic success. At this month’s Active Transportation Roundtable we wanted to learn from these local examples as well as our regional peers in Birmingham, Alabama. Our presenters emphasized that preparing a strong policy and political foundation; focusing on density of stations; building safer, more comfortable, and better designed streets; ensuring geographic and demographic equity; and maintaining sustainable funding are all critical to a strong bike share system. A bike share discussion in June 2016 – just days before the City of Atlanta’s system launch – was particularly timely and we were lucky to have great speakers and a great discussion at this roundtable. Byron Rushing Active Transportation Program Manager Atlanta Regional Commission June 15, 2016

PRESENTERS Before the RFP Heather Alhadeff, City of Atlanta Atlanta, GA halhadeff@atlantaga.gov Bike Share Best Practices Brad Davis, Alta Planning Atlanta, GA Braddavis@altaplanning.com Birmingham Bike Share Lindsey West, ZYP Bikes Birmingham, AL Lindsey@zypbikeshare.com Town Center CID Bike Share Mason Zimmerman, Town Center CID Board Kennesaw, GA hmzimmer@popeandland.com City of Smyrna Bike Share Teri Anulewicz, City of Smyrna Smyrna, GA Tanulewicz@smyrnaga.gov City of Atlanta Bike Share Becky Katz, City of Atlanta Atlanta, GA bkatz@atlantaga.gov

BIKE SHARE ROUNDTABLE MEETING SUMMARY

Before the RFP • Ensure legal and advertising restrictions don’t prevent bike share. • Interdepartmental cooperation and having a chamption is critical. • Site and station location planning requires funding. Bike Share Best Practices • Bike share is a form of public transit. • Determine the system and operation model that best suits your needs. • You need a champion, commited partners, and upfront funding. Birmingham Bike Share Nonprofit Model, 40 Stations, 100 E-Bikes, 300 Bikes • The whole system has solar powered stations. • Funded with 80% CMAC money from the MPO. • The Access for All program provides subsizised membership and longer free ride times. Town Center CID Bike Share Private Model, 3 Stations, 20 Bikes • Implemented as a quality of life initative. • A way to double down on trail connectivity. • Has helped facilitate the opening of a new 40 acre park. City of Smyrna Bike Share Public Model, 4 Stations, 20 Bikes • Timing (budget cycle and political support) was ideal for implementation. • Helps provide more transit options and better access to estabished trails. • A small investment in comparison to the larger city budget - a good value for the city. City of Atlanta Bike Share Private Sponsorship Model, 50 Stations, 500 Bikes • Ensure your contract is comprehensive and thorough. • Create overaching guidelines, and ensure decisions made support these. • The goal is to ensure the City of Atlanta is not the bottleneck in the process.

JUNE 8, 2016

WHAT TYPE OF BIKE SHARE IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR CITY? The various models of bike share can be scaled for your city. Business Models • Public • Private • Sponsorship • Non-profit • Public – Private Partnership

Operational Models • Shared Services • Full Time

Types of Bikes and Stations Technology is advancing rapidly don’t be afraid of innovation! • Fixed Stations • Flexible Stations • Hybrid

• Electric Bikes • Manual Bikes

KEY COMPONENTS FOR SUCCESS • • • • • • • • • •

Champion to Lead Establish Community Goals Create Overarching Guidelines Committed Partners Bike Infrastructure A Dense Network of Stations Funding for Pre-RFP planning Long Term Financing and Business Plan Implementation Strategy Promotional Campaign

CHALLENGES • • • • • •

Planning staff capacity Fundraising Coordination with Public Works Department Legal Restrictions on Station Placement and Advertising in the Public Right-of Way Timing the Policies Environment Equitable Station Placement and Funding Structure

BIKE SHARE IMPLEMENTATION EXPERIENCES 6

BEFORE THE RFP Heather Alhadeff, City of Atlanta halhadeff@atlantaga.gov

A discussion of experiences prior to planning for a bike share system. Look at legal codes - make sure bike share is even allowed before talking to the public. Feasibility to establish a bike share program (or, things we need to think through at the municipal level): o Be aware of legal and advertising restrictions if going with a sponsorship model. If advertising regulations in the public right of way are strict, then any sponsorship funding will not be likely until City Code is editied. Code changes can take months to get through the legislative process. o New sections of zoning code (beyond advertising) will mostly likely need to be written, and should be done before annuouncing launch dates. o Emerging technology can affect your decisions in the future. These choices have major impacts on the success of the program. - Smart bike vs. Smart Rack (smart bike allows users to lock bikes to regular racks not just the smart racks) o Funding vs. financing: Site planning requires funding early in the process, so financing may be necessary to move the project forward. o Determine staff capacity when setting phasing schedules. o Determine the Dept. of Public Works’ level of agreement - Eg. design regulations that can restrict station placement must be changed. - It’s important to get an agreement with them ahead of time. o Ensure data used for station site selection is good and relevant. - Census: density, population, employment - Note: addresses are not the same thing as the locations of building entries (eg. getting an uber in buckhead) - MARTA data: on-boardings at stations and bus stops - Intercept surveys at stations (NACTO has good guidelines on these) Note: It’s important to create a “talk sheet” for council members instead of a large feasibility analysis so they can stay on message.

POST PRESENTATION Q&A

Is there any model legislation/ordinances that we can use to ensure station placement is allowed? Heather: Every city is different, and has different codes, so it’s hard to point to one specific model. Becky Katz is willing to share the actual contract Atlanta has with Cycle Hop, so you can see what is needed and required by the bike share provider, so you can see if your ordinances currently meet these or would need updating. The most prescriptive part of the contract is the advertisement/sponsorship section.

BIKE SHARE PLANNING Brad Davis, Alta braddavis@altaplanning.com

What is bike share? - A form of public transit! - A short term bike rental at unattended locations SYSTEM COMPONENTS 1. Bikes and stations 2. Network of stations 3. Back end systems (apps, sign ups, etc) 4. Customers What type of bike system is appropriate for you? Business Models - Public - Private - Non-profits (eg. Nice Ride, Minneapolis/St Paul) - Public – Private partnerships Operation Models - Shared services o used often at campuses and small towns o often partners with local bike shops for maintenance - Full Time FLOW OF PLANNING: 1. Establish community goals 2a. Current policy and infrastructure research 2b. Suitability analysis (decide on size and scale of bike share) - GIS Demand Model: for Atlanta’s analsysis, looked at Minneapolis/St.Paul (MSP)’s preformance indicators and used those as input factors 3. Create a business plan (determine costs of program) - Financial Analysis - Look at both systems types and determind which is best financially (scale) - Figure out what would it take to break even. 4. Create implementation strategy that covers how to change legal issues, how to make it happen TAKE AWAYS: It takes a whole community. You will need: - A champion to lead - Committed partners with investment - Upfront funding - Bike infrastructure - A good marketing campaign

POST PRESENTATION Q&A

What are the top 3 leading trends in bike share? What’s innovative right now? • More sophisticated funding strategies. Everyone is now recognizing the need for upfront funding for planning prior to sponsership. • Technology is always changing, so bike and back end innovations will continue to occur. For example, Birmingham’s bike share uses E-bikes. • Having a system more tied to public transit. Have you seen any examples of bike share integrating with transit cards, such a Breeze cards, where you have one card for both? It all depends on your business model, and the model transit uses. Cubic (the technology/ group MARTA uses) is very proprietary, which makes it difficult to integrate other system with it. It is technically possible, since they are RFID chipcards. Los Angeles is leading the charge with integrating bike share with public transit. Have you seen interest from the public? Oh yes, people are very excited about this new form of public transit.

BIRMINGHAM BIKE SHARE (JOINED VIA SKYPE) Lindsey West, Director of Zyp Bike Share lindsey@zypbikeshare.com

SYSTEM: - Whole system has solar powered stations o Some were on the grid where solar was not feasible due to building shade o Neighborhood stations will be on the grid, because the canopies are large and intrusive - Birmingham has first E-Bike share system (100 E-bikes, 300 regular) - A Conference Membership option is avaliabe, $20 for 7-days REASONS FOR SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION IN B-HAM: - Economic competitiveness - Attracts millennials - Pairs with downtown entertainment district and residential growth - Last mile connectivity – its important the system isn’t used just on weekends - Health and wellness (“thank god for Mississippi”….. :/ ) TIMELINE: - Created a bike share taskforce: public and private o included potential funders from the beginning - Feasibility study/implementation plan (via a consultant) - Made a non-profit, Rev B-ham, to be the implementers o this allowed the group to apply for grants and pursue sponsorship - Selected vendor - Worked with city on ordinance changes and other legal issues FUNDING - CMAC money, from MPO, helped with 80% - 20% local match - Projected revenue helps sustain CHALLANGES - (wo)man power, it takes a dedicated champion, and takes more time and effort than you think - Fundraising, but they started engaging sponsors early (via taskforce) - Right of way (took a year to finalize) and city ordinances (signage) - Equity, which was brought up by the local Business Alliance Important in Implementation: - Timing (political environment must be right) - Strong taskforce - Political and community support crucial for private sector support - It important to have a density of stations from the beginning - Education and messaging was very important.

Future of a Bike Share System in Alabama: - There are hops to have a regional/statewide integrated system of bike shrare o This shares the cost of operations and liability (which benefits small systems). o The same card/account would work everywhere.

POST PRESENTATION Q&A

What does it cost for each E-Bike? Due to contractual obligations, she could not say specifically, but it is in line with other bike share costs. The total budget is $2 million for 40 kiosks. Note: The original contract was for all solar powered kiosks, but in reality 3 are plugged into the grid (2 due to sunlight restrictions, and 1 at city hall, because they wanted it). What are specific ways you dealt with EQUITY? - Hired a community engagement coordinator o Does equity membership outreach and safety o Works with sales and marketing (2 members of team, different goals) - Installed stations knowing they would not be revenue generators (eg. outside Hope 6 and other public housing). - Access for All program o a subsidized membership program for people on government assistance o Gives 1 hour of free ride time (to aid in longer commutes) o Allows you to come pay in cash, if you don’t have a credit card or internet. o Has an education program component (didn’t elaborate on this) What is your male to female member ratios? 46% Female Average member age: 42 Note: They will be conducting a more in depth annual demographic survey later this summer. Where there any documents or resources that you found helpful? - NACTO’s Bike Share Program - Bike Sharing in the US: a Guide to Practice and Implementation (see figure 1 page 31). - Call other communities similar to yours and communities who use the bike share providers you are considering. Ask about potential pitfalls or benefits of the programs.

https://www.zypbikeshare.com/

BIKE SHARE IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES 16

TOWN CENTER CID Mason Zimmerman hmzimmer@popeandland.com

CONTEXT - 2nd oldest CID in the Metro Area; located in the NW Cobb; connected to a trail system - Done as a quality of life initative and provided connectivity with local trials. - Goals: Transform an exurb of offices to a place. Activate and leverage the investment made several years ago when they developed the 7 mile Noonday Creek Trail Enhance the quality of life and connectivity throught the district Provide a recreational amenity for the community SYSTEM - 20 bikes, 3 stations - 2 yr contract, $76 thousand, was privately funded - Zagster, outsourced provider of bikes o Local bike shop does maintiance - 1 free hour, which lowers the bar for ridership and connectivity - 51% repeat riders - 2 year model was less costly than a study, so they went ahead and implemented the system TAKE-AWAYS - Added a quality of life component - Has helped facilitate the opening of a 40 acre park (soon) by Town Center Mall - Quickest excecution from concept to installation - First CID to implement bike sharing - System use has exceeded expections - Started with a smaller initial system to establish and validate the concept - The implementation of Phase 2 and 3 of the system will be accelerated as a result of the success of Phase 1

SMYRNA Teri Anulewicz Tanulewicz@smyrnaga.gov

SYSTEM: - Zagster - 4 stations, 16 bikes (soon to add 1 station, 4 bikes) - $32,960 budgeted (small item in budget) - $1340 per bike per year, includes liability coverage - $2000 to install - Plans for expansion, city pours pads, Zagster does the rest - Free for the first 4 hoursâ&#x20AC;Śafter that $5 an hour o Have had one issue with a pre-paid debit card IMPLEMENTATION - Once it happened, it was much less daunting than expected. - Got a committee together (public/private) - Timing was good, coming off success of Food Trucks, and was a good time in the budget cycle - Location decisions: o Great trail system was already established, so it was a question of how to make it easier to get people onto the trails. o How to give people more transit options? - Education aspect was important. o Looked into helmet stations/GA helmet laws, but ecided not to worry about this. - Maintenance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; public works did not want to own/maintain system. - Sponsorships will be included later (they are just the gravy on the biscuit) The city has gotten lots of value from program. - Good for city publicity (quality of life/sense of place) - Small investment in comparison to larger budget of the city.

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.cbs46.com/story/30000598/smyrna-starts-bike-share-program

http://zagster.com/smyrnaga/

ATLANTA Becky Katz bkatz@atlantaga.gov

500 Bike 50 Stations It’s possible and people are excited! Feasibility study set the pace/tone for program implementation Started to educate people SYSTEM: - Fully private model. - NOTE: This model was chosen several years ago, following NYC Citi Bike’s lead, however as bike share systems have evolved, a fully private models is not currently the best practice anymore.

IMPLEMENTATION TIPS - Make sure your bike share serves the public good - Call other places similar to yourself (size, scale, system provider) o What are the flaws/downfalls of your system? o Learn from other’s mistakes - The contract is important!!!!!!!! o Make sure you have a requirement of re-balancing (biggest critique of Paris’s system) o Maintenance and response times - This is an interdepartmental issue (parks, city, public works, communications staff (deals with media and public inquiries), lawyers, city council) – make sure everyone is on board with agreed upon response times - Put this in the contract to alleviate strain on city departments o EQUITY – hiring practices - Important to have a local team committed to a local system o Service area boundaries - Put in writing where you will expand in the next phases o Station siting - Lay out how it works, and who’s role is what - Overarching Guidelines o Every decision you make must be supported by these (see table, page 26). - Permitting process o Create a flow chart so it’s easily referenced – put online (see chart, page 27). - GOAL: Ensure City of Atlanta is not the bottleneck o Have an efficient permitting process o Establish time lines o Make sure externally everyone stays on message (have 1 message) - Start in core and build outward o Ensure efficient system before expansion o Important metrics: not just ridership - How much media generated? - How many people experience the system?

GRASSROOTS MOMINTUM - Talk with NPUs and other community orginizations about the process and implementation schedule - Have a face of the program, let there be someone to contact with questions. You NEED to city leadership behind you on this project RESOURCE: NACTO bike share research team (Kate Fillin-Yeh, NACTO Bike Share Program Director, kate@nacto.org) STATION DENSITY; - Must be walkable, dense and visible - Make it convenient for people to use, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about planning a system for people. EQUITY - Make this part of the program from the start - Geographic, racial, income, (donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to include students)

PHOTO SOURCE: Anne Welch

http://relaybikeshare.com/

WHAT CAN ARC DO TO HELP BIKE SHARE REGIONALLY? Is ARC going to lead regional bike share cooperation? Chances of getting private companies to coordinate with either technologies or fare structures don’t seem feasible. Also issues with systems that are not scalable programs. There does seem to be a need for ARC or other regional entities to continue to build consensus and collaboration, ala this bike share roundtable event. Could we look at a regional contract for local entities to buy into? There may be a minimum number of bikes and it’s a competitive market, so it’s really important to do good research about which company is best for a particular community. This is another area for ARC to continue to facilitate conversations. Another view is that multiple regional operators are good as they give people options for what’s best for their own communities; complete consistency across metro Atlanta may not be possible or event necessary. Is integration with transit operators possible? First level of integration might be possible, both could use RFID card so may be possible to have one card for different operators. Transit operators (including MARTA) have expressed concern about conflict outside of the transit system, as bus lines or rail stations are typically along major corridors which have a lack of safe bike infrastructure. There is an implicit need for broader complete streets and bike infrastructure programs to ensure safe bike share access to regional transit systems. How can metro Atlanta be a leader in bike sharing? It’s really good to see successful programs in the suburbs. It normalized bikes, and shows that cycling – especially short, daily trips – are possible outside a city center.

REFERENCED MATERIAL

Goals of the Atlanta Bike Share System The City of Atlanta in partnership with Cyclehop and Social Bicycles are committed to implementing a bike share program that all of Atlanta can be proud of. Together we have created overarching guidelines including actionable goals and objectives to ensure bike share is a success.

THEME

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

Integrate bike share as an extension of local and regional public transit Tansit Connectivity networks within the City of Atlanta and Personal Increase utilization of other transit modes by providing a first mile and Mobility last mile travel alternative that will increase the range of destinations served Provide increased physical opportunities that will help users get active and reduce obesity and chronic diseases Support improved access to fresh food, greenspaces and popular Health and Safety neighborhood destinations Promote a culture of safety among bikeshare system users Address several strategies in Power to Change, the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long term sustainability plan Establish a system that engages and serves users in minority, low wealth, and limited transit option communities and help improve access to jobs, recreation and healthy nutrition Utilize local non-profits, and community partnerships to leverage Social and programmatic and marketing to minority, low-come and limited transit Geographic Equity option communities Support connecting neighborhoods and residents that have been traditionally isolated Create a sense of civic pride for all neighborhoods in Atlanta Cover all operating expenses utilizing a range of private, city, state and federal funding sources Finances and Plan capital for system growth and equipment repair and Transparency replacement Operate system transparently with regular performance reporting to stakeholders and the public Retrieved June 2016 from: http://www.atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=1284 â&#x20AC;&#x192;

http://www.atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=1284

“Birmingham Bikeshare Feasibility Study.” Regional Planning Commission of Greater, Toole Design Group. 2014. Retrieved June 2016 from: http://www.birminghambikeshare.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/03/Birmingham-Bikeshare-Feasibility-Study-FINALreduced.pdf

“Atlanta-Decatur Bike Share Feasibility Study.” Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Alta Planning-Design. 2013. Retrieved June 2016 from: http://www.atlantabike.org/bikesharestudy

“City of Atlanta Bike Share Health Impact Assessment.” ICF International. Retrieved June 2016 from: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/~/media/assets/ external-sites/health-impact-project/atlantabikesharehiareport

HIA Reccomendations from the City of Atlanta Bike Share Health Impact Assessment TOPIC AREA RECOMMENDATION SAFETY AND INJURY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Record bicycle distance per trip to capture physical activity. Provide a sign at each station with the bicycle distance per trip to nearby locations within a particular radius. This would serve as a way-finding device and as a way for bicyclists to note how much physical activity they may get.

AIR QUALITY

Review annual levels of ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM 2.5/10), and carbon monoxide (CO) for air quality to assess whether any changes could be attributed in part to increasing cycle trips and reducing car trips.

TRANSPORTATION

Use the metric of non–motor travel (NMT) to offset vehicle miles traveled (VMT) using the transportation mode that requires physical activity.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Collect and review data on demographics to assess how representative bike share users are of Atlanta residents.

CONSIDER HEALTH DISPARITIES

Determine how to measure performance over time by considering indicators that are correlated to health disparities (e.g., income, number of residents without access to cars, ethnicity, and age).

RESIDENT OUTREACH

Involve health-disparate populations in the process by holding meetings in low-income areas and soliciting feedback from residents who cannot attend in person through texts, e-mails, or letters. Consider residents’ suggestions of bicycle features that may encourage them to use bike share, such as baskets on bicycles to use for shopping trips, which are also recommended in the RFP, or children’s seats to help parents get their children to school or day care.

PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN

Conduct a public education campaign before and after the bike share launch. Include sessions in a variety of neighborhoods. Conduct a media campaign that focuses on increasing community connectivity via access to transit, jobs, and services (e.g., grocery stores) or other diverse uses highlighted through community feedback.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Include a public health practitioner or expert on any advisory committee formed to oversee the bike share program.

IDENTIFY KEY PARTNERS

Identify key partners required to facilitate public involvement and maximize positive health impact.

LOCATE NEAR COMMUNITY RESOURCES LEVERAGE BICYCLE FACILITIES ELICIT COMMUNITY INPUT

Collect data on traffic-related injuries and deaths to assess areas of intervention for infrastructure improvements or other changes that may increase safety for bicyclists.

Locate stations within walking radius of 0.5 miles of community resources to expand access to grocery stores, schools, public transit, parks and recreational facilities, and places of employment. Determine where to locate sites by considering indicators that are correlated to health disparities (e.g., income; number of residents without access to cars; ethnicity; age; distance to closest community resources such as grocery stores, library, employment centers, or transit stops; number of rental housing units). Leverage current and planned bicycle facilities to encourage bike share use and maximize the positive health impact of cycling. Elicit community members’ input and feedback on popular destinations (current and in the near future), most-used bicycle facilities such as bike racks or bike lanes, and educational methods that work best in their community.