Agenda Packet 2-26-20 Work Session

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6 Evaluation Criteria By creating rules and adding structure to an e-scooter pilot, city staff are working to mitigate the concerns and issues cited in the previous section. Evaluation criteria proposed by city staff and listed in the survey focus on the topics of safety, sustainability, and equity. Survey respondents were asked to select the criteria they considered most important for each topic and were invited to propose their own ideas for evaluation criteria as well. While the questions asked respondents to select the criteria they considered most important, there was no limit on the number of criteria survey takers could select. Safety The survey proposed five safety-focused evaluation criteria. The criteria, in order of most to least selected, are: 1. The company has a plan with concrete actions to promote safe riding and proper parking practices. 2. The company uses technology (such as GPS) to detect and discourage sidewalk riding and improper parking. 3. Scooter design specifications include a lock-to mechanism that locks to fixed objects (ie. bike racks). 4. The company has a plan with concrete actions to promote helmet use. 5. The company does not contract out scooter recharging responsibilities as gig-work (meaning persons are paid per charge scooter and are not considered employees.) When given the option to propose additional safety-related evaluation criteria, criteria commonly proposed were either programmatic, operational, or design-oriented. Programmatic recommendations include the creation of (a) an etiquette and safety campaign and (b) training courses. Operational recommendations include the need for a means to speed-control scooters and that companies be required to share data. Design recommendations include front and rear lights (which are required by state law), bells or some other means of making noise to alert others to their presence, and seats. Sustainability In the sustainability category, two pre-determined criteria were proposed. Survey respondents indicated that they value the need for a company to include an end-of-life plan for the recycling, reuse and/or sustainable disposal of scooters more highly than the use of non-fossil fuel-based vehicles to redistribute and recharge scooters. Additional criteria proposals centered around energy use for charging scooters, the production of scooters, maintenance and disposal practices, and incentives for scooter use. Examples include that companies should have an anti-fossil fuel commitment, have a strong policy and performance record about using conflict minerals in battery production, should use replaceable components, and should provide incentives to scoot instead of drive. February 26, 2020, Work Session – Item 2