13.A.
City Council Meeting - FINAL
- Meeting Date:
- 10/07/2025
- Co-Submitter:
- Christopher Phair
- From:
- Jenny Niemann, Climate Section Director
TITLE
Micromobility Share: Update and Scope Discussion
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff seek direction on whether to begin work to allow one micromobility share operator to conduct business in Flagstaff. This would entail planning for an operator permit and permit fee, and then issuing a request for proposals (RFP).
If Council would like to proceed, staff request feedback on the proposed requirements for a micromobility share operator.
Executive Summary:
Micromobility share has the potential to provide a new, healthy, and affordable transportation option in Flagstaff. Since the February 2025 Council discussion on micromobility share, City staff and their partners have engaged City commissions and community groups to understand the community’s interest and concerns.
This presentation will review the community feedback and provide a staff recommendation on how to proceed with micromobility share in Flagstaff.
If Council wishes to proceed with allowing micromobility share, staff have prepared suggested requirements for a micromobility share operator.
This presentation will review the community feedback and provide a staff recommendation on how to proceed with micromobility share in Flagstaff.
If Council wishes to proceed with allowing micromobility share, staff have prepared suggested requirements for a micromobility share operator.
Information:
Micromobility refers to a mode of transportation that uses light, low-occupancy vehicles such as electric scooters (e-scooters), electric skateboards, bicycles, and electric pedal-assisted bicycles (e-bikes). Micromobility share programs provide communities with access to equitable and environmentally friendly transportation options.
Micromobility share has been rapidly expanding in the United States over the past ten years. As of June 30, 2025, there are 80 dockless bikeshare systems and 197 e-scooter systems in the United States. (These numbers exclude systems limited to college or employer campuses.)
History of Micromobility Share in Flagstaff
In 2018, the City and Northern Arizona University (NAU) conducted a six-month pilot dockless bike share program, the results of which were promising for a successful long-term bike share system. The pilot program confirmed the community’s interest in multi-modal transportation options and the potential for capturing future riders: in just six months, almost 11,000 trips were taken on shared bikes, totaling almost 14,000 miles.
The City of Flagstaff and its partners sought to permit a micromobility share company to operate in Flagstaff in 2019 and 2020. While the City and NAU entered into a contract with an operator, the operator canceled plans to launch in Flagstaff during the events of 2020.
Revisiting Micromobility Opportunities
In 2024, staff from the City of Flagstaff Sustainability and Engineering Divisions formed a micromobility share working group with staff from Mountain Line, MetroPlan Flagstaff, and Northern Arizona University (NAU), to once again explore if micromobility share is a viable option in Flagstaff.
Micromobility share is supported by numerous City and Regional planning documents, including the Carbon Neutrality Plan, the Active Transportation Plan, and MetroPlan’s Stride Forward Regional Transportation Plan.
To support this effort, Mountain Line and MetroPlan developed a Micromobility Share Feasibility Report with extensive input from the City and NAU. This Report examines the state of the micromobility share industry, its use in peer cities, and potential risks and considerations for equity. It also reaffirms the community's interest in a shared micromobility program while identifying potential management strategies. Please see the Feasibility Report for extensive information on these topics.
City staff and their partners spoke with the Flagstaff City Council on February 11, 2025 (starting at 15:02), to confirm the City Council’s support for restarting a conversation on micromobility share. City Council directed staff to begin community engagement on micromobility share in Flagstaff.
During March and April 2025, City staff and their partners met with City Commissions and community groups to identify community priorities, common concerns, and opportunities associated with shared micromobility. The following groups were engaged:
Across all the City of Flagstaff commissions and groups consulted, there was general support for implementing a Micromobility Share program in Flagstaff. No group expressed direct opposition. However, they emphasized the need for strong compliance mechanisms, especially regarding parking, safety, and equity.
Key themes raised include:
As part of our community engagement efforts, we launched a public survey through Connect Flagstaff to better understand local interest, needs, and concerns about a potential program in Flagstaff. This survey was open from early May until late June 2025 and received 107 responses. Survey highlights include:
Permit Cost
The micromobility share operator must establish a self-sustaining enterprise. The City will consider creating a permit fee to balance the staff time needed at both NAU and the City to provide operator oversight and manage program impacts. The project team will work with the Management Services Division to propose an appropriate permit fee structure.
Scope of work - detailed requirements
The attached document - 'Scope of Work - detailed requirements' outlines requirements and encouraged features for a micromobility share operator. These requirements will be refined based on Council, community, staff and partner feedback, and will be used to detail expectations in the Request for Proposals (RFP).
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Implementation Steps
If Council supports moving forward, the following process will be followed:
Micromobility share has been rapidly expanding in the United States over the past ten years. As of June 30, 2025, there are 80 dockless bikeshare systems and 197 e-scooter systems in the United States. (These numbers exclude systems limited to college or employer campuses.)
History of Micromobility Share in Flagstaff
In 2018, the City and Northern Arizona University (NAU) conducted a six-month pilot dockless bike share program, the results of which were promising for a successful long-term bike share system. The pilot program confirmed the community’s interest in multi-modal transportation options and the potential for capturing future riders: in just six months, almost 11,000 trips were taken on shared bikes, totaling almost 14,000 miles.
The City of Flagstaff and its partners sought to permit a micromobility share company to operate in Flagstaff in 2019 and 2020. While the City and NAU entered into a contract with an operator, the operator canceled plans to launch in Flagstaff during the events of 2020.
Revisiting Micromobility Opportunities
In 2024, staff from the City of Flagstaff Sustainability and Engineering Divisions formed a micromobility share working group with staff from Mountain Line, MetroPlan Flagstaff, and Northern Arizona University (NAU), to once again explore if micromobility share is a viable option in Flagstaff.
Micromobility share is supported by numerous City and Regional planning documents, including the Carbon Neutrality Plan, the Active Transportation Plan, and MetroPlan’s Stride Forward Regional Transportation Plan.
To support this effort, Mountain Line and MetroPlan developed a Micromobility Share Feasibility Report with extensive input from the City and NAU. This Report examines the state of the micromobility share industry, its use in peer cities, and potential risks and considerations for equity. It also reaffirms the community's interest in a shared micromobility program while identifying potential management strategies. Please see the Feasibility Report for extensive information on these topics.
City staff and their partners spoke with the Flagstaff City Council on February 11, 2025 (starting at 15:02), to confirm the City Council’s support for restarting a conversation on micromobility share. City Council directed staff to begin community engagement on micromobility share in Flagstaff.
During March and April 2025, City staff and their partners met with City Commissions and community groups to identify community priorities, common concerns, and opportunities associated with shared micromobility. The following groups were engaged:
- Pedestrian Advisory Committee
- Bicycle Advisory Committee
- Transportation Commission
- Sustainability Commission
- Commission on Diversity Awareness
- Inclusive and Adaptive Living Commission
- Tourism Commission
- The Climate and Equity Advisory Committee
- MountainLine’s Board of Directors
- MetroPlan Technical Advisory Committee
- Arizona Department of Transportation staff
- The Flagstaff Downtown Business Alliance
- Various City of Flagstaff staff, including the Police Department, Risk Management, Economic Development, and staff on the Community Enhancement Committee.
Across all the City of Flagstaff commissions and groups consulted, there was general support for implementing a Micromobility Share program in Flagstaff. No group expressed direct opposition. However, they emphasized the need for strong compliance mechanisms, especially regarding parking, safety, and equity.
Key themes raised include:
- Equity & Accessibility: The importance of ensuring device affordability, including adaptive vehicles, and outreach to underserved neighborhoods.
- Enforcement & Safety: Concerns about parking compliance, helmet availability, and potential misuse. There was strong interest in geofencing and safety education tools.
- Public Education: Strong recommendation for robust public relations efforts to educate the community on the benefits and safe use of micromobility options.
- Aesthetic & Infrastructure Concerns: Caution around downtown visual impacts and sidewalk clutter, especially in high-traffic tourist and pedestrian areas.
As part of our community engagement efforts, we launched a public survey through Connect Flagstaff to better understand local interest, needs, and concerns about a potential program in Flagstaff. This survey was open from early May until late June 2025 and received 107 responses. Survey highlights include:
- 71% of respondents believe a micromobility share program would be a useful transportation option in Flagstaff.
- 45% would be more likely to use micromobility if it were integrated with Mountain Line transit services.
- Top trip purposes include leisure/recreation (70%), errands (55%), and commuting (45%).
- Accessibility and affordability were also emphasized: 84% of respondents supported reduced fares for qualifying residents, 61% supported adaptive vehicles, and over half supported multilingual support and cash payment options
Staff recommendation
Based on the input received, staff recommend:
If City Council directs staff to proceed with an RFP, the City will seek proposals to provide and operate a multi-year micromobility share program. Staff will outline a scope of work that will result in a comprehensive, affordable shared micromobility system for residents and visitors. The RFP process will seek innovative solutions to reduce risk, meet City and NAU goals, and secure an operator that plans a long-term presence in Flagstaff and can collaborate with the City, NAU, and other partners to ensure success.
Overall requirements
The RFP process would seek micromobility share operators that provide all equipment and operations management, including but not limited to 24-hour customer support, equipment maintenance, redeployment management, mobile app management, and data sharing. The RFP would require the following preliminary plans to identify an operator’s ability to provide comprehensive operations while establishing a trusted and consistent presence in Flagstaff.
Based on the input received, staff recommend:
- Allowing one micromobility share operator to conduct business in Flagstaff.
- Issuing a permit through a request for proposals (RFP).
- This RFP would include the operator requirements in this presentation.
- Operator proposals can lead to competition and creative ideas for addressing risks, reducing operational challenges and improving accessibility.
- Use the contract to address management concerns.
- Assigning a cost to the operator permit, to offset the staff time associated with the program. Staff time is estimated at:
-
- 25% time for a City staff person, devoted to overall compliance.
- 50% time for a NAU student worker, devoted to compliance at NAU.
-
If City Council directs staff to proceed with an RFP, the City will seek proposals to provide and operate a multi-year micromobility share program. Staff will outline a scope of work that will result in a comprehensive, affordable shared micromobility system for residents and visitors. The RFP process will seek innovative solutions to reduce risk, meet City and NAU goals, and secure an operator that plans a long-term presence in Flagstaff and can collaborate with the City, NAU, and other partners to ensure success.
Overall requirements
The RFP process would seek micromobility share operators that provide all equipment and operations management, including but not limited to 24-hour customer support, equipment maintenance, redeployment management, mobile app management, and data sharing. The RFP would require the following preliminary plans to identify an operator’s ability to provide comprehensive operations while establishing a trusted and consistent presence in Flagstaff.
- Shared device plan
- Deployment and scaling plan
- Preliminary parking plan
- Winter operations plan
- Preliminary communications plan
- Preliminary pricing and access plan
- Maintenance and distribution plan
- Staffing plan
- Device and battery disposal plan
- Customer service plan
- Safety plan
- Decommissioning plan
The micromobility share operator must establish a self-sustaining enterprise. The City will consider creating a permit fee to balance the staff time needed at both NAU and the City to provide operator oversight and manage program impacts. The project team will work with the Management Services Division to propose an appropriate permit fee structure.
Scope of work - detailed requirements
The attached document - 'Scope of Work - detailed requirements' outlines requirements and encouraged features for a micromobility share operator. These requirements will be refined based on Council, community, staff and partner feedback, and will be used to detail expectations in the Request for Proposals (RFP).
------------
Implementation Steps
If Council supports moving forward, the following process will be followed:
- Fee study and adoption.
- Development of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from micromobility share operators. This will include the scope requirements outlined above – which may be edited according to Council, community or staff input.
- Operator selection through the RFP process.
- Contract negotiation and issuance of a permit.
- Planning for successful outreach and implementation
- Program launch
- Ongoing support
Attachments
- Micromobility Share Feasibility Report
- Scope - Detailed Requirements
- Micromobility Share Presentation