The City of Kansas City welcomed Bird, SPIN and RideKC Bike & RideKC Scooter into a yearlong pilot program designed to gauge how these motorized units best fit into our transportation system.
“We want to create more options for getting from homes to jobs, which will create more economic opportunities for Kansas City residents,” said Jason Waldron, Associate Director of Multimodal Transportation. “That’s why the social equity part of this pilot program is so important.”
The City created the scooter and e-bike pilot as an innovative way to provide additional modes of transportation for residents and visitors while also providing data and other information to City staff. The information will help determine what, if any, revisions to city code might be considered. Additionally, ridership information from the companies will help us prioritize where we need to build more infrastructure and understand the impacts of scooters and e-bikes on existing infrastructure.
"Cities around the world are leading the way on investing in transportation partnerships that can improve the lives of residents and visitors," said Blanca Laborde, Government Partnerships for Bird. "Kansas City continues to demonstrate that it is such a leader, and we are thrilled that Bird will continue to be part of this community."
For the pilot, the three companies will pay a $250 application fee and a $15,000 annual permit. Dockless scooter providers will pay $1 per day per device, and docked e-bike companies will pay $50 per year per device.
The pilot's other objectives include:
Streamlining the permitting and licensing process for these types of companies
Evaluating operations in all seasons, as well as during special events and emergency situations
Influencing the implementation of the new BikeKC Plan
Establishing framework for rules and regulations for Shared Active Transportation companies in KCMO
City leaders and vendor partners celebrated the new partnership with a short program and scooter/e-bike demonstration on the new 18th Street bike lanes.
"We are excited to be part of this project in moving Kansas City's transportation options into the future," said Eric Vaughan, Director of Bike Share & Business Services. "Kansas City is paving the path for the entire country by offering the first electric bike and scooter options that will be fully integrated with the regional transit system, RideKC Bike and RideKC Scooter."
For more information, visit: http://kcmo.gov/scooters/