Staff recommends the Yellowstone County Planning Board forward a recommendation of approval of the Billings Area Bike and Scooter Share Feasibility Study to the Billings City Council and the Yellowstone Board of County Commissioners with the intent to forward a positive recommendation to the PCC.
 

The MPO hired Alta Planning + Design through a competitive process to conduct the Billings Area Bike and Scooter Share Feasibility Study. The goal of the Billings Area Bike and Scooter Share Feasibility Study is to define what a successful bike and scooter share program would look like for the Billings area. A bike and/or scooter share system is a network of shared bicycles or scooters available for short-term use, usually 15 to 45-minute trips. A user can check out a bicycle or scooter from locations around the city, ride to their destination, and then leave the bicycle or scooter for someone else to use.
 
Bike share and scooter share programs are designed to be a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, convenient travel option for shorter trips. In a survey of 245 respondents completed as parts of this study, 53% of people said they are interested in seeing bike and scooter share in Billings, 24% are not interested, and 14% need more information. Of the remaining percentage that selected "other," many respondents reported liking the idea of bike share, but not scooter share. Top concerns related to bike and scooter share include safety, lack of bicycle infrastructure, and vandalism. Most Billings community members want to access downtown, parks, and restaurant/coffee shops by bike or scooter share.
 
The study recommends Billings implement a hybrid bike share system where the bike/scooter houses the transaction rather than at a station. Stations, also called hubs, consist of branded racks for parking bike share bikes. Though stations are available, the program does not require that a bike be left at a station and it is permitted to be parked anywhere within the service area. The study also recommends using electric-assist or e-bikes to make trips easier for people of all abilities.  For a system governance model, the study recommends implementing a turnkey bike share system or a publicly owned and privately operated system. In a turnkey system, the City would hire an experienced company that owns and operates the system. The City would rent equipment and contract with the company for the full range of operations support, including installation, operations, sponsorship, customer service, and maintenance. Alternatively, Billings could purchase the bike share fleet and hub infrastructure and contract with a third party to operate the system.  During the system launch, the study suggests launching in an initial service area including downtown and MSU Billings, creating an equity program, and establishing strategic partnerships to ensure the success of the system.

The Yellowstone County Board of Planning held a public hearing on January 26, 2021 after receiving a presentation from consultants Mack Drzayich and Mike Sellinger of Alta Planning + Design, Inc. There was no public testimony. Planning Board members asked several questions including whether there was a way to restrict the devices geographically so that bikes do not end up on the West End. The consultant responded that geofencing can be used to restrict the geographic area where the bikes can operate. A member also asked if the bikes were being replaced every year, and the consultant responded that the bikes last 5-10 years. Operation costs go to repairing the bikes and rebalancing the system. In many places the size of Billings, the city or a regional partner participates as a funding partner in the system. Board members had concerns about scooters been left on the sidewalk in inappropriate places. The consultant responded that concern was a key factor in choosing a hybrid system where bikes have to be locked to something at the end of a trip to prevent sidewalk clutter. In addition, one of the roles of the operations staff is to clean up bikes that have been improperly parked in a timely manner. 

Planning Board may:

• Forward a recommendation of approval; or,
• Not forward a recommendation of approval 

of the Billings Area Bike and Scooter Share Feasibility Study to City Council, the Yellowstone Board of County Commissioners, and the Policy Coordinating Committee. 

The contract for the Billings Area Bike and Scooter Share Feasibility Study was budgeted at $44,964. The majority of the funding is through the MPO’s Federal PL (planning) funds. PL funds for this project required 13.42% local match, which was provided through the Planning Division’s approved FY21 Budget. Implementing bike and/or scooter share in Billings is not included in this budget.