sfmta_scooter_application_assessments_08.30.2018.pdf

    Bird SFMTA Application Assessment GUIDING PRINCIPLE EVALUATION CRITERIA APPLICANT PROPOSAL SUMMARY SFMTA ANALYSIS RATING Safety Strategies to educate and train users should result in safe operations of scooters by riders.  Swipe-through screens  Field staff instructed to proactively educate users about safe riding In addition to baseline strategies proposed by most or all other applicants, applicant included some innovative strategies. Training field staff to proactively approach users on safe riding behavior likely to result in safer operations but may not reach all users. Fair Strategies to promote and distribute helmets should result in helmet use by riders.  Free helmet upon request; field staff will encourage helmet use Met only baseline strategies proposed by most or all other applicants. Based on the SFMTA's observations during the scooter roll out in spring 2018, these baseline strategies taken alone did not result in high levels of helmet use. Field staff approaching users regarding helmet use is unlikely to improve usage if staff or riders do not have a helmet on hand. Poor Disabled Access Strategies to ensure properly parked scooters, including any commitments to locking or tethering, should result in parking that does not block the right of way.  Willing to implement locking mechanism but does not recommend implementation  Will require photo for proof of proper parking  Will deploy in "nests" on private property Willingness to implement locking technology and variety of additional strategies are likely to result in improved parking behavior compared to scooter roll out in spring 2018; the SFMTA evaluates this strategy at a similar level of effectiveness to most applications. Fair User penalties for poor compliance by users with laws governing scooter operation, including possibility of suspension by the applicant, should support appropriate operation and parking by users.  Provided examples of types of penalties that could be issued, but didn't clearly define when penalties would be levied Lack of detail in response underscored lack of commitment to leveraging penalties and incentives. Poor

  Equitable Access Approach to providing service to low-income residents, including diverse payment options and fare discounts, should reduce barriers to participation.  Over 50% discount for low income users  Limited detail in describing mechanism to participate  Cash option; no mention of SMS option Despite significantly discounted rates the SFMTA concludes that low income users would face barriers to accessing applicant's services based on the lack of detail about how users would access/qualify for these benefits. Poor Service Area beyond the downtown core and commitment to rebalancing should ensure availability of scooters in underserved areas.  With fewer than 750 scooters, would deploy downtown core only  No commitment to redistributing for geographic equity  Would do community outreach first six months to determine expansion proposal  No mention of service hours The SFMTA concludes that the applicant's proposed small service area and lack of specific rebalancing plans are insufficient to ensure availability in underserved communities. Note: Plans to conduct outreach to identify more equitable service after 6 months are insufficiently detailed to be considered in evaluation of service area. Poor Community Outreach Outreach approach should include strategies to ensure that low income residents are aware of service and how to participate.  Mentions outreach to determine where to expand service during second half of pilot to Communities of Concern, for larger numbers of scooters  Mentions but does not describe engagement strategy for providing scooter share service in Communities of Concern that are underserved by transit  Enhanced multilingual communications outreach Applicant demonstrates some understanding of the SFMTA's goals to promote low income programs but does not provide sufficient detail as to how that would be accomplished. The SFMTA negatively evaluates this lack of detail as unlikely to ensure that low income residents are aware of services and how to participate. Poor Approach to outreach should ensure that members of the public, including those that choose not to use scooter services, have the opportunity to be heard and to stay informed about program.  Mentions intent to participate in events to be available to answer questions and build community partnerships to be more affordable and accessible; does not articulate plans to address feedback Attending events and meeting with stakeholders is a baseline strategy proposed by most applicants; without specific goals or plans to address feedback, the SFMTA negatively evaluates lack of detail as unlikely to result in applicant successfully listening to and addressing community feedback. Poor

  Labor Should demonstrate understanding of operational needs and resource requirements to ensure service reliability.  Lack of detail regarding operations/rebalancing plan beyond nightly retrieval and recharging  Will hire Fleet Coordinator and Community Manager; rest will be contracted out The SFMTA negatively evaluates applicant's lack of detailed strategy for operations and rebalancing as insufficient to ensure safe and reliable operational practices. Poor Approach to hiring and training employees and/or contractors should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to ensure safe operational practices and knowledge of the communities in which they operate.  All field staff (except one Fleet Coordinator and one Community Manager) are independent contractors; this includes maintenance staff  Video training for contractors; contractors are "expected to already have knowledge relevant to the services provided"  No charging facility - chargers charge scooters on their own including in private homes The SFMTA negatively evaluates the applicant's reliance on minimally trained independent contractors for charging and in particular for maintenance activities, which could compromise safety and reliability of system. Poor Sustainability Approaches to operations and disposal should demonstrate commitment to environmental sustainability.  No mention of recycling  No mention of battery recycling  "Damaged beyond repair" units are shipped to Southern California for parts salvage or reuse/proper disposal  Units maintained by independent contractors (likely less training) The SFMTA negatively evaluates the applicant's response, which fails to address critical requirements of San Francisco's Zero Waste Policy. Poor Experience & Qualifications Applicant's experience in operating and maintaining shared mobility systems, in San Francisco and elsewhere as well as applicant’s history, and the history of their users, in complying with city regulations should demonstrate their capacity to comply with the terms of the scooter share permit.  Have operated shared scooter systems in SF and scooter share and bikeshare in many cities  Public Works impounded 169 improperly parked Bird scooters and issued 5 violations; the initial violation in the amount of $1,637.00 was paid, subsequent violations were outstanding with a total of $13,910.17 owed as of the June 7th application deadline but have since been paid. The applicant demonstrates experience operating shared scooter service, but the SFMTA negatively evaluates applicant's history of violations, which indicates that past strategies have been insufficient to ensure user compliance with laws. Poor   

  Data Transmission & Data Privacy Comply with Transportation Code requirements to provide SFMTA with aggregate demographic data and real time location, and submit a data privacy policy consistent with the Director's guidelines  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to data provision and privacy Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Electronic Payment System Provide electronic payment system compliant with PCI DSS  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to electronic payment systems Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Multilingual Website, Call Center & API Provide a multilingual website with languages determined by SFMTA, call center and mobile application customer interface.  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to customer service including multilingual options Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Financial Assurances Agree to Transportation Code requirements concerning insurance, payment of $10,000 into public property repair and maintenance endowment, and agree to reimburse the SFMTA for any costs incurred for abating violations of Powered Scooter Share requirements  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to financial assurances Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A

  HOPR SFMTA Application Analysis & Rating GUIDING PRINCIPLE EVALUATION CRITERIA APPLICANT PROPOSAL SUMMARY SFMTA ANALYSIS RATING Safety Strategies to educate and train users should result in safe operations of scooters by riders.  Swipe-through screens  10 free rides for users who take a scooter safety class In addition to baseline strategies proposed by most or all other applicants, included some innovative strategies. Offering incentives for safety classes will result in safer operations compared to most applicants, but may not reach all users. Fair Strategies to promote and distribute helmets should result in helmet use by riders.  Helmet provided with rental Providing helmets with rental is the surest way to ensure consistent helmet use. The SFMTA evaluates this strategy as highly likely to result in helmet use compared to baseline strategies. Strong Disabled Access Strategies to ensure properly parked scooters, including any commitments to locking or tethering, should result in parking that does not block the right of way.  Cable tether ready to deploy as of July 2018  Geofenced preferred parking  Plan to deploy racks Readiness to implement locking technology and variety of additional strategies are likely to result in improved parking behavior compared to scooter roll out in spring 2018. Due to readiness to implement, the SFMTA evaluates this strategy as more effective than most applicants. Strong User penalties for poor compliance by users with laws governing scooter operation, including possibility of suspension by the applicant, should support appropriate operation and parking by users.  Provided examples of types of penalties that could be issued, but didn't clearly define when penalties would be levied  Points-based incentive system rewards and penalizes users based on riding and parking behavior but little detail on how points would be assigned Lack of detail in response underscored lack of commitment to leveraging penalties and incentives. Poor

  Equitable Access  Approach to providing service to low-income residents, including diverse payment options and fare discounts, should reduce barriers to participation.  Over 50% discount for low income users  Subscription plan available  Limited description of mechanism for participation  Cash and SMS option Despite significantly discounted rates, the SFMTA concludes that low income users would face barriers to accessing applicant's services based on the lack of detail about how users would access/qualify for these benefits. Poor Equitable Access Community Outreach Service Area beyond the downtown core and commitment to rebalancing should ensure availability of scooters in underserved areas.  Request 1,000 scooters and would deploy in all of SF minus Twin Peaks and south west neighborhoods; do not say whether service area would differ for smaller fleet  No commitment to redistributing for geographic equity  Service hours: 5am to midnight Broad service area for larger fleet would ensure some degree of geographic equity and extended service hours will serve users when transit is limited. However, lack of rebalancing would result in reduced availability in underserved communities throughout the day, and the SFMTA is unable to evaluate service area for smaller fleet sizes. Fair Outreach approach should include strategies to ensure that low income residents are aware of service and how to participate.  Mentions but does not describe presence at community events and inclusive, diverse marketing campaigns  Mention but do not describe collaboration with community organizations to promote low-cost scooter share programs The SFMTA negatively evaluates lack of detail as unlikely to ensure that low income residents are aware of services and how to participate. Poor Community Outreach Labor Approach to outreach should ensure that members of the public, including those that choose not to use scooter services, have the opportunity to be heard and to stay informed about program.  No mention of attempts to engage members of the public generally Failure to include strategies to engage members of the public who do not choose to use scooter services is a flaw in application. Poor

  Community Outreach Labor Should demonstrate understanding of operational needs and resource requirements to ensure service reliability.  Locking racks (HOPR Pods) required for deployment  Lack of detail on rebalancing/redistribution  Labor plan for 300 scooters: 1 operations manager, 1 marketing manager, 1 mechanic, 3 field technicians The SFMTA negatively evaluates applicant's lack of detailed strategy and low level of staffing for operations and rebalancing as insufficient to ensure safe and reliable operational practices. Required locking racks (HOPR Pods) would significantly delay program launch based on required coordination with the City; the SFMTA evaluates this as incompatible with current pilot permit program. Poor Labor Sustainability Approach to hiring and training employees and/or contractors should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to ensure safe operational practices and knowledge of the communities in which they operate.  Very limited detail regarding labor and operations  Field and maintenance staff are full & part-time hourly employees  Mentions but does not describe continued training opportunities The SFMTA negatively evaluates lack of detail regarding training programs as unlikely to result in safe operational practices compared to other applicants. Poor Approaches to operations and disposal should demonstrate commitment to environmental sustainability.  No mention of recycling  No mention of battery recycling  No mention of reuse/salvaging of parts  General compliance statement regarding hazardous substances  Electric bikes used for rebalancing The SFMTA negatively evaluates the applicant's response, which fails to address critical requirements of San Francisco's Zero Waste Policy. Poor Experience & Qualifications Applicant's experience in operating and maintaining shared mobility systems, in San Francisco and elsewhere as well as applicant’s history, and the history of their users, in complying with city regulations should demonstrate their capacity to comply with the terms of the scooter share permit.  Have operated dockless bikeshare in many cities The SFMTA positively evaluates the applicant's experience operating stationless bikeshare services; however, applicant has not operated a scooter share system nor do they have a history of collaboration with the SFMTA. Fair

    Data Transmission & Data Privacy Comply with Transportation Code requirements to provide SFMTA with aggregate demographic data and real time location, and submit a data privacy policy consistent with the Director's guidelines  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to data provision and privacy Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Electronic Payment System Provide electronic payment system compliant with PCI DSS  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to electronic payment systems Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Multilingual Website, Call Center & API Provide a multilingual website with languages determined by SFMTA, call center and mobile application customer interface.  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to customer service including multilingual options Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A Financial Assurances Agree to Transportation Code requirements concerning insurance, payment of $10,000 into public property repair and maintenance endowment, and agree to reimburse the SFMTA for any costs incurred for abating violations of Powered Scooter Share requirements  When submitting application, applicant agreed to comply with Transportation Code requirements and Terms and Conditions related to financial assurances Satisfactory - agrees to comply. N/A

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https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports-and-documents/2018/08/sfmta_scooter_application_assessments_08.30.2018.pdf