KabirCares.org

New Dockless Bikeshare, E-Scooter May Come to College Park

The Council will discuss a new bike share/scooter program, and a pilot scooter program. Since the original launch of mBike in 2016, Zagster has introduced a new bike share service model, Pace. Pace uses “lock-to” technology that allows the bike share to operate as a dockless, as opposed to our current station-based, system. These lock-to vehicles avoid the pitfalls of free-floating dockless systems by requiring users to lock their bicycles to a Pace or public bike rack at the end of their ride.

By allowing riders to use public racks as well as official stations, the reach of the bike share system is greatly extended, and users have greater flexibility in where they end their trips. In addition to a new bike share system, the City also has the option to introduce electric scooters into our mix of shared mobility devices. See Attachment 2 for a sample image of the type of scooters proposed.

Several vendors made proposals to the University and, to a lesser extent, the City, to bring scooters to the community. These operators typically provide scooters at no cost and collect all rider revenue. Other city and university communities that have introduced scooters have seen high ridership numbers due to the popularity of these devices for short trips.