Vancouver seeking an e-scooter share operator for launch in Spring 2024

City of Vancouver launches bidding process for public e-scooter share operator, with launch targeted for Spring 2024

Example of a locking docking parking station for an e-scooter share service in Estonia. (Bolt)

By the spring of 2024, a public e-scooter sharing service could be found in Vancouver’s streets – similar to the existing Mobi public bikeshare service.

The City of Vancouver has just launched its procurement bidding process seeking an operator for public e-scooter share services.

This process is being carried out following a directive by the previous makeup of Vancouver City Council in June 2022, which approved a member motion to launch an e-scooter pilot share project.

Since Summer 2021, the City of Vancouver has permitted the use of personal/private e-scooters on bike lanes and local streets as part of its participation in the provincial government’s pilot project of partnering with select municipalities to test e-scooters, but at the time it stated it needed more time to consider allowing a public e-scooter share service.

You might also like:

Based on the request for proposal (RFP) files, the city is mandating a wide range of requirements and costs on the selected operator.

Unlike the most common typology of dockless e-scooter share services, where the devices can simply be left within designated marked areas, the city will require the installation of docking equipment for e-scooter share stations across the downtown Vancouver peninsula and Central Broadway areas.

These e-scooter docking stations, similar to the docking stations for bikeshare that lock the bikes onto racks between trips, will also be required in certain other areas of the city, such as commercial high streets, an arterial street without curbside street parking, near SkyTrain stations and major bus stops, and adjacent to hospitals, care facilities, and other key destinations.

Such a requirement for fixed street infrastructure appears to be an attempt to address longstanding concerns that e-scooter share services without docking stations can add to street clutter and impact public safety when users leave the devices in improper areas, such as on the middle of a sidewalk. Furthermore, when operational issues arise, the operator is asked to have a response time of one hour for a device obstructing a roadway, bike lane, or sidewalk, and two hours if a device or station is damaged.

Before installing a docking station location, the operator will need to consult with residents and businesses within 20 metres of the proposed site.

vancouver e-scooter share docking station priority map

Priority area for e-scooter share stations that requiring locking docking equipment. (City of Vancouver)

getcharged docking parking new york city e-scooter

Example of a locking docking parking station for an e-scooter share service in New York City. (GetCharged)

Example of an e-scooter share service in a designated parking area without any locking docking station in Richmond. (Lime)

Upon initial launch, the operator will start with a limited service area of no more than 10 sq km and a smaller e-scooter fleet, with incremental expansion into other areas of the city and further fleet deployments based on demonstrated ridership demand and public feedback.

Under this procurement phase, public parks, beaches, the seawall, and other areas under Vancouver Park Board jurisdiction are excluded from the initial service area.

Furthermore, the operator cannot deploy more than 35% of its fleet or no more than 500 e-scooters, whichever is lesser, at any one time to the downtown Vancouver peninsula. At the same time, the operator should integrate its e-scooter share service with public transit – given that e-scooters are often used as the “first mile” and “last mile” to reach major public transit services – as well as areas currently underserved by public transit and other shared micro-mobility services, such as Mobi bikeshare.

There will also be annual fees paid by the operator to the municipal government for each e-scooter device used and each station location created on a city-owned space.

Each e-scooter device will carry a $50 annual fee, which means, for example, a fleet size of 1,000 devices would cost $50,000 per year just for municipal fees.

The annual fee for each station area on a city-owned space ranges from as high as $350 per sq metre within downtown Vancouver to as low as $150 per sq metre elsewhere in the city on collector roads and local roads. For stations located on a curbside metered vehicle parking space area, the operator will be required to compensate the municipal government for all lost metered revenue, based on existing rates.

Any other costs incurred by the city, such as requiring municipal crews to change signage, would also be covered by the operator.

Neuron e-scooter share. (Neuron Mobility)

E-bike docking stations for Vancouver’s Mobi public bikeshare. (David Niddrie/Mobi)

Very much unlike the municipal government’s strategy for supporting the company that launched Mobi in 2016, the city will not provide the selected e-bike share operator with any funding to support initial startup costs, such as the required fixed infrastructure for the docking stations. This e-scooter share service is intended to be “revenue-neutral or revenue-generating” for the city, with staff noting in the procurement files that they welcome any revenue-sharing proposals, including a percentage of ridership revenue and/or sponsorship revenue.

In contrast, Mobi received $5 million in funding from the municipal government for the startup costs and operational subsidy of its public bike share service for its first five years.

The selected e-scooter share operator will be given an initial five-year operating term, with options to extend for three more five-year terms at the city’s discretion. The city is aiming to have the operator launch the initial service in the second quarter of 2024.

Within Metro Vancouver, Lime and Neuron operate competing e-scooter and e-bike services in Coquitlam. In Richmond, Lime exclusively operates an e-scooter share service. On the North Shore, Lime only operates a e-bike share service.

Both companies currently only operate dockless stations for their services in the region. Lime, one of the world’s largest micro-mobility firms, specializes in dockless fleets.

Mobi’s parent company CycleHop is best known for its bikeshare services, but it also has e-scooter share operations in some other markets.

Earlier this fall, Lime CEO Wayne Ting, during his visit to Vancouver, told Daily Hive Urbanized his company has immense interest in adding Vancouver to its growing Canadian market.

“Vancouver has almost every single one of the characteristics that make it a very popular micro-mobility city. You want cities that are warm year-round, have high density, and are near waterways,” said Ting during the interview.

“There are a lot of places where you can go around waterways. Then there are also investments in bike lanes and places with a lot of tourists. The number of post-secondary students is another characteristic. I think it can be one of the best micro-mobility cities out there.”

You might also like: