save bike-share Archives

The Kill Bike-Share Bill Becomes Law — But It No Longer Kills Bike-Share

October 7, 2022/by Laura McCamy

Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 371, which imposes an unprecedented insurance requirement on scooter-sharing systems, raising costs for operators and users. CalBike campaigned hard against this bill, and we’re disappointed that it passed and became law, but our diligent advocacy succeeded in reducing the potential harm from this measure.

AB 371, the Kill Bike-Share Bill, was first introduced in 2021 but stalled out in the Senate and became a two-year bill, thanks largely to strong opposition from bicycle advocates like CalBike and shared micromobility operators. The original bill imposed insurance requirements on shared bikes and scooters that were disproportionate to the harm these lightweight and low-speed vehicles can cause. It set personal injury limits higher than the insurance required of people who drive 2-ton automobiles.

Evolution from terrible to not so bad

The original impetus for the bill was pedestrians getting injured when riders park scooters carelessly, leaving them blocking the sidewalk. The hazard is particularly acute for the elderly and people with sight impairments who might not be able to avoid tripping on a scooter. Shared bikes are less prone to this issue because they’re less tippy and many of them have designated docks for parking.

The author made AB 371 into a two-year bill, so it came back in this legislative session. Many of you emailed your legislators to ask them to oppose the bill, and CalBike worked closely with the legislator and our allies to ramp up the pressure to change the bill.

In the end, we didn’t get everything we wanted, but the pressure made a difference. The final bill doesn’t require insurance for shared bikes (though it requires a study of bikes). That means California bike sharing programs, including those operated by nonprofits and transit agencies and the ones funded through state Clean Mobility Options grants, will still be able to operate. And the insurance requirement for scooters was reduced to a level that may not put scooter sharing systems out of business.

CalBike will remain vigilant about this issue, and we will oppose any efforts to require bicycle insurance on shared or private bikes. We keep up the fight with your support and help. Please consider chipping in so we can continue and expand our advocacy

Why a Bicycle Coalition Supports Scooters — And You Should, Too

September 9, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

California Bike-Sharing in Danger

August 5, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

For Immediate Release 8/5/22

Contract: Jared Sanchez, CalBike, (714) 262-0921, Jared@calbike.org

Unless Fixed, AB 371 Could Kill Bike-Sharing in California

Sacramento, Calif. – The California State Senate is considering a bill that will endanger bike and scooter sharing in California.

The Kill Bike-Share Bill (AB 371) would require providers of shared bikes and scooters (whether a private company or a transit agency) to carry insurance to pay for injuries caused through no fault of their own, including by the rider’s own negligence. It’s unprecedented and will drive up the costs of bike and scooter sharing so severely that many programs will have to be canceled. AB 371 could end hopes of expanding these programs into low-income communities.

CalBike opposes AB 371 unless it is amended to remove the insurance mandate. The bill must leave the Senate Appropriations Committee by August 11th.

“California should drastically expand bike-share, not hobble it with prohibitively expensive requirements,” said Jared Sanchez, senior policy advocate, CalBike. “AB 371 punishes shared scooters and shared bikes, while strangely boosting mopeds masquerading as e-bikes. Reducing active transportation options will cause increased driving and worse pollution in already burdened neighborhoods. This bill will also reduce economic security for low-income people who rely on these low-cost shared mobility options to get to jobs, school, and recreational activities.”

The Kill Bike-Share Bill was amended in June 2022 to reduce the amount of the insurance requirement. However, AB 371 in its current form will still have a devastating impact on equitable mobility in California. The bill demands a type of policy that isn’t available on the insurance market.

AB 371 also mandates bodily injury coverage out of proportion to the potential that low-speed, human-powered and electric vehicles have to cause damage or injury.

The Kill Bike-Share Bill will undermine California policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by penalizing active transportation. Indeed, many bike-sharing programs funded with state grants will be forced to close if this bill becomes law. California will fall behind other states instead of being a leader in providing low- and no-carbon transportation alternatives.

Voices of the Coalition Opposed to Kill Bike-Share Bill

June 27, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

Shared Micromobility: the Future of Equitable Transportation

June 1, 2022/by Kevin Claxton

Realizing the Potential of Bike and Scooter Sharing Systems

February 28, 2022/by Laura McCamy

Jouke 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.

CALBIKE Opposes AB 371

February 22, 2022/by Laura McCamy

DATE: updated 3/02/2022 [edited from original 2/22/22]

CONTACT: Dave Snyder, CalBike, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org

CALBIKE Opposes AB 371 – Save Bike-Share!

Sacramento – The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) opposes AB 371 by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer. This bill would impose an unprecedented cost on bike share and scooter share systems by forcing the provider to carry insurance to pay for damage caused by the user. It would put most, if not all, shared micromobility systems out of business, and make it fiscally impossible to subsidize an expansion of the system so that it serves everyone equitably, and not just the privileged residents in wealthy downtowns. CalBike helped defeat a similar provision in the 2020 legislature.

Eliminating shared micromobility programs would be a disaster for California’s climate. They provide affordable transportation and help to reduce vehicle miles traveled by providing an alternative to the car for short trips. Bike and scooter sharing systems also extend the reach of existing transit systems by giving riders a way to get from a transit station to a destination that is out of walking distance.

“We’ve only begun to see the potential of low-cost shared bikes and scooters to enhance public transit and provide low-impact, safe mobility for people who can’t afford cars or who prefer not to drive,” said Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “We should be expanding bike-share, not killing it.”

The bill is currently in the Senate Insurance Committee.

AB 371 imposes an unprecedented insurance burden on shared mobility systems

AB 371 would require micromobility operators (public and private) to acquire insurance that covers negligent conduct of a device rider. This requirement would be a legal anomaly. Rental car companies are not liable for the negligence of their drivers. Basketball court owners aren’t required to carry insurance for injuries caused if a fight breaks out among players. Roller skate shops don’t have to pay for insurance to cover the costs of someone injured by one of their skating customers.

Comparing this proposal to existing requirements for motor vehicles is instructive. Motorists must carry $30,000 in insurance for their own liability. If AB 371 passes, bike- and scooter-share operators would be required to carry $500,000 in insurance for injuries caused through no fault of their own. That disparity is hard to justify when you compare the difference in weight and speed of bikes and scooters compared to motor vehicles.

Pedestrian Safety, Social Equity, and our Climate, are Threatened

Bike share systems have the potential to serve low-income communities with high-quality transportation that is as affordable as public transit but healthier, usually faster, and sometimes even fun. This vision will require the massive deployment of bikes and e-bikes and scooters, substantial subsidy to make it affordable, and the development of safe bikeways. It’s part of a future with much fewer cars, and therefore a safer future, without most of the 15,000 serious pedestrian injuries caused by cars in California last year. This future is not only possible, it’s required if we are to meet our climate goals. In 2021, the Air Resources Board recognized the importance of bike and scooter share systems for low-income people by granting millions of dollars in its Clean Mobility Options program to bike-sharing. This measure would end the programs funded by state grants, putting California at odds with itself. Cities like San Francisco that are considering expanding bike share operations by taking a more active role would have to scuttle those plans.

CalBike urges the legislature to stop AB 371 and save bike-share.

AB 371 Goes Dormant and Bike Share Lives — for Now

July 19, 2021/by Kevin Claxton

Thanks to CalBike and the “all-powerful bicycle lobby,” AB 371, the Kill Bike Share Bill, has halted its journey through the California legislature. The bill included a burdensome and unfair insurance requirement for bike and scooter sharing systems that would have ended shared micromobility in California. The bad news is that we might have to fight this fight all over again next year.

Kill Bike Share Bill could return in 2022

AB 371 isn’t technically dead — it is a two-year bill, which gives it another chance to pass the legislature in the 2022 legislative session.

A lot could happen between now and 2022. The bill’s author could decide not to bring it back, or he could revise it to remove the insurance requirement. CalBike will continue to work hard for one of those outcomes.

However, unprecedented bike share operator indemnity seems to be a zombie idea that just won’t die. CalBike and our allies succeeded in excising a similar insurance requirement from a bill in 2020, and yet it came back again in AB 371.

Contradictory California policies

California desperately needs more carbon-free transportation options to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. To further that goal, the state’s recently-announced Clean Mobility Opportunity (CMO) grants included several bike sharing programs.

Ironically, the insurance requirements in AB 371 are at odds with the state’s policies because they would put an end to all bike share in California. The insurance requirement, as currently written, would make system operators liable not only for accidents related to equipment failure but for those caused by bike share users. Such an insurance policy doesn’t currently exist and, if it did, it would be so expensive that it would make bike and scooter sharing systems impossible to operate. This would not only put venture capital-backed systems like Lime and Lyft out of business; it would also end the LA Metro municipal bike share and close down the very projects California’s CMO has funded.

Bike sharing systems have a tremendous safety record. A 2016 study found that bike share riders are less likely to get into accidents than people on their own bikes. If legislators are worried about traffic injuries not covered by insurance, shared micromobility is not the target with the most significant impact.

About 16.6% of California motorists are uninsured — the tenth highest rate in the nation. That’s almost 2.5 million uninsured, 3000-pound, gas-powered vehicles on our streets. There’s a problem worth solving.

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