The first step for a city to fully leverage the opportunity that new mobility provides to its territory is to set up contracts with private mobility operators wisely.
Shared Mobility Procurement
Mobility has been evolving very fast for the past 5 years. Through his career in public private partnerships, Urban Radar’s CEO, Philippe, saw first-hand that his clients – cities, consultants, and planners – don’t have the ability to leverage the latest private sector innovations. This is why he partnered with Geoffrey, a Software and Autonomous Vehicle engineer, to create Urban Radar.
Urban Radar is a technology company built with a mission to bridge the public sector with shared-mobility providers at the speed of technological evolution.
Beyond the technology to automatically manage shared-mobility contracts, cities turn to Urban Radar asking for advice about setting up the procurement: we offer public procurement advisory to cities for e-scooters, shared bikes, car sharing, etc.
The typical cycle for a city is :
– Set a framework for a shared-mobility pilot project (3-6 months)
– Observe the pilot project and learn through observing behavioral patterns with technology
– Set procurement for a longer project (1-2 year)
– Observe and improve
For example, here is a summary of the 12 most critical sections for shared micro-mobility procurement:
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Set the scene by understanding the legal obligations and opportunities
Which regulations apply to e-scooters and/or e-bikes; driver’s license, helmet, over 18 years old required? Which authority can regulate and issue permits, concession agreements, Right to Operate and other procurements?
Public right-of-way: understand the responsibility allocation for regulating a business on the public right of way, streets, curbs and sidewalk
OPERATION FRAMEWORK
Define the terms of operations to suit the city’s needs
Number of operating companies, maximum and minimum number of vehicles, vehicle and equipment specs and compliance
DURATION
Communicate transparent expectations to operators
Observation pilot project of a few months or longer-term contract? The first one gives time to observe and iterate on the regulation to best meet the city’s objectives
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS
Set clear rules of operation to meet the city’s mobility, equity, safety and environmental goals
Hours of operation, parking, lock, no-go zones, equity rebalancing, speed limitations, safety
DATA SHARING
Enable dynamic enforcement and improve the city’s multimodal planning effort
Data and API type, format, frequency, 2 ways data communication requirements
ENFORCEMENT
Monitor and enforce the operational performance requirement
Set penalties levels, automatically monitor performance and send alerts if requirements are not met
FEE
Cover the cost of management and infra
Cost of staff, software, enforcement; costs of adapting infrastructure
Fee per operator and vehicle, impounding fee, waterway recovery fee
PRICING
Ensure equity by promoting income-based prices
Income-based pricing such as free minutes, free unlock fee; Cash based payment for non-smartphones users
EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLE MAINTENANCE
Minimize impact of heavy wear and tear business
Equipment and vehicle specs according to local regulations, clear identification of vehicles, on-board GPS for real time location, batteries specs, charging and disposal plan
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Guarantee that the full life cycle of the operation meets the city environmental standards
Sustainability plans of the whole operations (vehicle, charging, maintenance), coordination with operators during particular events (terrorism, strikes, events), dedicated parking spots to ensure sidewalk safety, anti-vandalism policies, waste policies
WORKFORCE DEPLOYMENT
Safeguard the employment and social law
Organizational structure, customer service in accordance with operations hours, charging and rebalancing, staffing plan
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Engage all citizen to capture their needs and concerns
Multilingual service, culturally sensitive outreach, local partnering, safety course
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