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Tag Archive for: micromobility
Realizing the Potential of Bike and Scooter Sharing Systems
/by Laura McCamyJouke Peutz has split his life between the Netherlands and California. He loves living in the U.S., but his Dutch childhood instilled a deep love of biking. He’s pursuing that passion for biking, in collaboration with CalBike, with a research project to develop best practices and a general framework to improve the partnership between the public and private sector to aid disadvantaged communities through micromobility.
CalBike advocates for the inclusion of shared micromobility in public transportation systems. That will ensure that the cost remains affordable, that micromobility programs serve all neighborhoods equitably, and that there are cohesive support platforms and incentives for users. Jouke’s research will help us make a case for public micromobility.
CalBike collaborates with a researcher inspired by his Dutch biking roots
Jouke Peutz didn’t start a graduate degree in Community Development at UC Davis with a plan to focus on bikes. “I was very set on sticking with buildings since I came from an architecture background,” he says.
Then he took a class on bicycle infrastructure and design that called him back to a childhood where, he recalls, “I had all my freedom on my bicycle. I learned life lessons on my bicycle. I biked through the rain, the sun. I had a deep connection to my bike.” Now, Jouke says, “My whole research has oriented from looking at buildings to looking at bicycling. The funny thing is that they are very much connected.”
His grandparents still ride, regularly going across the border to Germany on their e-bikes. “The bike is what gives them their freedom, too,” he says.
He wants to bring that freedom to biking in the U.S., but he recognizes the challenge. “We’re trying to copy things from the Netherlands, but it never really works,” Jouke says. Intersections that “look Dutch” function very differently here because the U.S. has its own bike culture.
How shared micromobility can promote transportation justice in California
Jouke’s research project is titled “Facilitating market-based micromobility in disadvantaged communities in California,” and will look at how to bridge the gap between government and the private sector to better serve disadvantaged communities. Through a literature review and interviews with key stakeholders, he hopes to answer the question of how California state agencies can develop and coordinate micromobility in partnership with private operators.
Jouke’s research is more than an academic exercise. He sees it as a gateway to improving people’s lives.
“Transportation is a main factor in people’s life success, whether that’s healthwise or economicwise,” he says. “People who don’t live a wealthy lifestyle typically live in communities they get pushed into and they rely on public transportation to get work or groceries.”
He particularly wants to make sure that people in disadvantaged communities don’t get left behind in the transition away from carbon-based transportation. “What does that mean if you’re told you cannot drive anymore or need to buy an expensive EV?” Jouke says. “That’s where micromobility could play an important role.”
CalBike has helped connect him with stakeholders and supported him in his research. “We’re excited to see what Jouke’s research produces,” says Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “CalBike is focused on transforming the way we view micromobility. Bike sharing shouldn’t be viewed as an elite urban amenity but as an essential public transportation connection. Having evidence to show the benefits of micromobility will help us make that case.”
“The beautiful thing about bicycles is they connect the wealthiest people and the poorest people,” says Jouke. “I do really believe micromobility will be a big part of our future in transportation.”
Bike-share in danger in California
Unfortunately, California is in danger of becoming a state with no bike or scooter sharing. A bill moving through the California Senate, AB 371, would impose an unprecedented insurance requirement on all bike-share operators, including public transit systems and nonprofits.
Micromobility is the future, and we can’t let this regressive bill stop it before it reaches its full potential. Please email your California Senator today and ask them to vote NO on AB 371.
Micromobility and much more at the California Bicycle Summit
At the California Bicycle Summit, April 6-9, 2022, in Oakland, we’ll discuss equitable micromobility with Jouke and representatives from companies that provide bike and scooter sharing systems in California. You won’t want to miss that, plus 30 breakout sessions, bike tours, parties, and more. Register today.
AB 371 Could Deal Fatal Blow to Bike/Scooter Sharing
/by Kevin ClaxtonFOR 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.
Forest Barnes Moves from CalBike to SFMTA
/by Jared SanchezFor the past two years, Forest Barnes has led CalBike’s work to bring better biking to the Central Valley. Funded by a Caltrans grant, the project team created a plan to make the planned High-Speed Rail (HSR) stations accessible to people walking and biking, drawing a three-mile radius around each station and proposing a network of great bike lanes and safe crossings to enable people to reach HSR. They also provided assistance to the City of Bakersfield to launch its first bike-share program. Forest has successfully wrapped up that project and is moving on from CalBike to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as a regulated mobility planner.
Forest’s work while at CalBike will have a lasting impact. His team’s recommendations will vastly improve the safety and comfort of people in disadvantaged neighborhoods near the downtowns of Fresno, Bakersfield, and Merced.
Importantly, the Central Valley Bikeways Project recommendations relied on a novel tool to analyze how a specific improvement affects the connectivity of destinations throughout the whole city. The tool shows how fixing an intersection at a key chokepoint might be more important to connectivity than a new path at the edge of the city. CalBike plans to promote this type of analysis for future active transportation funding decisions. It’s important for officials to build truly connected, low-stress networks instead of attractive but disconnected paths that don’t help bike riders reach key destinations such as work, school, or shopping.
The project also evaluates bicycle parking options at each of the stations, and proposes an exciting long-distance bicycle route, in conjunction with the construction of the new High-Speed Rail (HSR) stations. Once implemented, these plans will create a connected, low-stress network for residents to get to key destinations in Central Valley communities.
The final element of CalBike’s Central Valley Project, a bike-share system for Bakersfield, was held up by COVID but is currently being finalized. CalBike will continue to work with regional agencies, governmental bodies, and our allies at Bike Bakersfield to bring more safe, active mobility options to Central Valley communities.
Now, as the project comes to a successful close, Forest is moving on. He will join the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as a regulated mobility planner. Forest will bring his expertise in urban mobility to the management of bike and scooter share systems in San Francisco.
Bringing connected bikeways to Central Valley communities
“I really appreciated getting to serve Bakersfield in particular, as well as the Central Valley,” Forest said. As a Bakersfield native, he was excited to use his active transportation planning skills in service of his hometown. The Central Valley Project also developed bike plans for Fresno and Merced, as well as a long-distance bike route. Forest’s proudest accomplishment, however, was the low-stress bike network plan for Bakersfield. The plan hasn’t been adopted yet, but he hopes it will open the door for a sizable investment in biking and walking in the Central Valley.
“Forest has been an indispensable part of our team, further connecting CalBike to the richness of the Central Valley and leading the expansion of safe biking in the region,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate and another member of the Central Valley Project Team. “Forest’s personal connections to Bakersfield helped provide needed nuance to proposing low-stress connected bike networks to the city.“
Asked what he liked best about his time at CalBike, Forest said, “I absolutely appreciated the team most of all. I appreciated being at an advocacy organization.” He plans to stay connected and attend the next California Bicycle Summit. He added, “I feel extremely blessed to have found this job that combined so many of my interests.”
CalBike is excited to continue to work with Forest in his role at SFMTA.
CalBike Statement on Governor’s Executive Order to Promote Clean Transportation
/by Kevin ClaxtonFor Immediate Release
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Contact: Dave Snyder, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org
Governor’s Executive Order to Promote Clean Transportation Is Weak and Vague on the Most Important Strategies to Address the Climate Crisis
Sacramento, CA—Governor Gavin Newsom today released Executive Order N-79-20, calling for reduced carbon pollution from the transportation sector. Cars and trucks account for nearly 40% of all greenhouse gases emitted in California. The order gives strong support to electric cars but fails to set goals for reducing dependence on automobiles. California needs much more if we are to have any hope of forestalling a severe climate crisis and worsening poverty.
The first five of the order’s 12 clauses relate to converting gas-powered vehicles to electric. They set the goal of prohibiting the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and call for various other measures necessary to meet that goal. Other clauses refer to gradual reductions in oil extraction in California.
Only one clause calls for giving Californians better ways to get around than private electric cars. It requires the state’s transportation agencies to “identify near term actions and investment strategies to improve clean transportation.” The order specifies that those strategies should include “supporting bicycle, pedestrian, and micro-mobility options, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities in the State, by incorporating safe and accessible infrastructure into projects where appropriate.” This is too vague and weak at a time when bold action is called for.
Statement from CalBike
“We’ll never solve the climate crisis unless we also address the economic crisis, and we can’t do either without reducing our dependence on cars and trucks. California needs to replace gas-powered cars with electric ones, very quickly, but doing that alone is a recipe for total failure. We need to make it dramatically easier for people to walk, bike, and take transit to reduce greenhouse gases from the transportation sector and still provide affordable mobility, improve health, and create good jobs.” — Dave Snyder, Executive Director, CalBike
This executive order is an important first step for California toward finally taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, where we have made next to no progress toward California’s climate goals.
Governor Newsom’s order provides specific direction to six state agencies to achieve the important and necessary goal of eliminating sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. It calls for a just transition to a carbon-free transportation sector by emphasizing the creation of good jobs and the improvement of infrastructure in disadvantaged communities.
However, the order is vague when it comes to the transition away from automobiles to public transit, walking, and biking. This transition is critical, especially for the state’s disadvantaged communities. Public investment in charging stations in disadvantaged communities will not serve the majority of households in these neighborhoods who cannot afford an electric car, even with a subsidy. Nor will such investment in electric cars serve the one-in-three households in low-income communities in the Bay Area, for example, who don’t even have a car.
Reducing the need for cars and trucks is paramount to the successful mitigation of climate change. Reducing car dependence reduces costs for the lowest-income Californians, improves health and safety for everyone, and creates more jobs than other transportation investments.
The Governor’s order specifically calls out the need to support micro-mobility in disadvantaged communities. Expanding access to public transit by including shared bikes and scooters as part of public transit systems is the key to equitable mobility. CalBike’s work to create the Clean Mobility Options for Disadvantaged Communities program supports this expansion, but much more investment is needed.
The Governor specifically called on three agencies to improve clean transportation: the California State Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the Transportation Commission. CalBike will work with all three to help define a future where Californians have clean transportation options beyond gridlocked freeways and expensive EVs. As the agencies ‘identify the near term actions” necessary to implement Governor’s order, CalBike will work to ensure they focus on making the improvements needed by those who would bike, walk, or take public transit if given the opportunity.