AB 371 Could Deal Fatal Blow to Bike/Scooter Sharing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPDATED: July 7, 2021
AB 371 Could Deal Fatal Blow to Bike/Scooter Sharing
Sacramento – The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) opposes AB 371 by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer that would impose an onerous insurance burden on shared-mobility providers and likely put them out of business across the state. A similar provision was defeated in the 2020 legislature.
The bill is now headed to the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Insurance.
Dave Snyder, executive director, CalBike:
“Shared bikes and scooters are a critical complement to public transit. We’ve only just begun to see the benefit that we’ll enjoy once we expand these systems and integrate them with transit. Unfortunately, we may never see that future if AB 371 passes. It will place unprecedented insurance requirements on bike- and scooter-share systems that would end this vital last-mile transportation option in California.
Private and Public Micromobility Systems Threatened
The insurance requirement will apply to nonprofit services, like bicycle libraries that lend out bikes on a short-term basis to low-income neighborhood residents, as well as public transit agencies like LA Metro, and private providers like Spin or Bird. It would put them all out of the shared micromobility business and kill this promising low-impact, low-cost transportation mode. This comes just when we need it the most and when bikeshare systems are reporting record ridership.
Update: View our OpEd produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and TransForm.