City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 10/22/12 Item Number: A-1
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of the Concept of Participating in a
Westside Cities Council of Government Bike Share Program, Including Allowing
Sponsorship in the Public Right-of-Way.
Contact Person/Dept.: Helen
Kerstein/PW
Phone Number: (310) 253-5618
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (10/18/12)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (09/10/12)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (10/15/12)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (10/17/12)
City Manager Approval:
John Nachbar (10/17/12)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council provide direction on the concept of participating
in a Westside Cities Council of Governments (WSCCOG) bicycle share program,
including allowing a private or non-profit agency sponsor to place its name and/or
logos on bicycle stations in the public right-of-way and on bicycles.
BACKGROUND:
Bicycle sharing programs complement public transit and other mobility modes by
enabling users to rent bicycles at one station and drop them off at another location.
Bicycle sharing programs typically appeal to riders taking short trips, with most
rentals lasting less than 30 minutes. By renting a bicycle sharing bike, these riders
avoid the upfront investment required to purchase a bicycle and the worries of theft
or vandalism, lack of parking or storage, and maintenance.
While bicycle sharing programs provide riders with a potentially valuable service,
there are significant costs associated with initiating and operating them. Although
the costs of these programs vary, it is estimated that the start-up cost is roughly
$46,000 per bicycle sharing station, and that annual operating costs are
approximately $1,800 per bicycle (not including management, promotion and
administrative costs associated with the program). As with almost all public
transportation, user fees (which include day or annual memberships as well as
hourly fees) alone do not cover the entire cost of start-up or operations of bicycle
sharing programs. Instead, user fees are augmented with some combination of
public subsidies/grants, sponsorship, and advertising revenue. Sponsorship and
advertising revenue comes from selling rights to put company names/logos and City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
product advertising, respectively, on kiosks and bikes. Sponsorship revenue can
also potentially come from selling naming rights for the system (see Attachment 1).
Currently, there are several firms that sell and operate bike sharing systems,
including: Bike Nation, Alta, B-Cycle, and DecoBike, etc. One of the main
challenges with bicycle sharing is inter-operability, as these firms’ systems are not
compatible with one another. Thus, riders cannot use their membership with one
firm to rent bikes provided by other firms. Furthermore, if there are multiple firms in
an area, riders must be careful to drop off bikes at stations operated by the same
firm at which they picked up the bikes.
DISCUSSION:
Over the last several years, bike sharing programs have been launched in a number
of cities across the country, such as: Denver (B-Cycle), Miami Beach (DecoBike),
Washington D.C. (Alta), and Boston (Alta). Other large bicycle sharing programs are
in the works. For example, Chicago and New York City are both in the process of
launching bike sharing programs with Alta. The roll-outs for both of these programs
were planned for the past summer, but have been postponed until next spring.
In Southern California, the cities of Anaheim and Long Beach have recently entered
into agreements with Bike Nation to implement bicycle sharing programs that rely on
advertisements to fund the program and provide additional revenue for the City. City
of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced plans for Bike Nation bicycle
sharing programs in Los Angeles. However, no agreement has been developed. To
date, Bike Nation has not started service in any city.
In the Westside of Los Angeles, there has been growing interest in bicycle sharing.
Recognizing the desirability of inter-operability in the subregion, the WSCCOG has
included implementing a Westside bicycle sharing system to its work program and
has taken a role in coordinating and advancing bicycle sharing efforts. So far, at the
direction of the WSCCOG Governing Board, the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City,
Santa Monica and West Hollywood have issued a Request for Information (RFI) to
obtain information about a possible joint bicycle sharing program (the City of Los
Angeles did not participate due to on-going negotiations with Bike Nation).
WSCCOG member cities have also taken other steps towards launching bicycle
sharing. In addition to the City of Los Angeles Mayor's office pursuing a program
with Bike Nation, the City of Santa Monica has secured two grants to fund the start-
up of a bicycle sharing program. One of these grants includes capital funding for
five bike sharing stations in other WSCCOG cities. The City of Santa Monica plans
to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) within the next six months, and has offered to
include alternatives to expand the bicycle sharing program to other WSCCOG cities
in the RFP. Additionally, the City of West Hollywood has been engaged in
discussions with a firm to provide bicycle sharing within its jurisdiction that would City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
include advertising within the public right-of-way. And, most recently, in early
October, the WSCCOG received an unsolicited offer from Bike Nation to install up to
150 stations with 1,500 bicycles in the subregion without public funding or
operational subsidies. The offer presumably relies on funding from advertising
and/or sponsorship, but those details, as well as other pertinent information, were
not included in the offer.
While the Westside cities are at different stages with regard to funding and planning
for bicycle sharing, staff is engaging in regular discussions to coordinate efforts.
There is general agreement among WSCCOG staff that a primary goal is to have a
program with inter-operability among the multiple jurisdictions. Thus, there is a
strong desire for one firm to cover the entire Westside. A significant challenge in
meeting this goal is that the City of Los Angeles may decide to choose a different
vendor. This would be especially problematic for Culver City, which is surrounded
by the City and County of Los Angeles and is some distance from any of the other
Westside cities.
Another challenge with a WSCCOG bicycle sharing program is that there may be
different tolerances for advertising and sponsorship in each jurisdiction. Some type
of advertising or sponsorship is typically required to fund the operations of bicycle
sharing programs even if a grant or other funding is available to pay for initial capital
costs. Thus, a Westside program would likely be financially infeasible without
openness to at least sponsorship if not product advertising. And, since an integrated
system would include picking up bikes in one jurisdiction and dropping them off in
another, it would be problematic if one jurisdiction allowed sponsorship or
advertising on bikes and another did not.
Currently, West Hollywood allows advertising in the public right-of-way (e.g., transit
shelters). However, Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica do not currently
allow advertising in the public right-of-way. At the July 26, 2012 meeting, the
WSCCOG Governing Board agreed that each of the three cities that do not allow
advertising in the public right-of-way should confer with their respective City Councils
on the viability of a future bicycle sharing program with a single sponsor providing
their logos on stations and bicycles within their cities with the goal of a revenue
neutral program. Each City individually would decide if advertising beyond what the
single sponsor provides is allowed on stations within their jurisdictions.
The City of Beverly Hills’ City Council considered this topic on September 11, 2012.
The City Council did not want advertising beyond the single sponsorship at the
stations and bicycles, consistent with the City's “no billboard” policy. The Beverly
Hills City Council concurred with staff’s recommendation to support a WSCCOG
bicycle sharing program with a single private or non-profit sponsor that places their
logos in these locations.
Culver City staff is requesting direction from the City Council regarding whether it
also supports the concept of participating in a WSCCOG bicycle share program, City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
including allowing a private or non-profit agency sponsor to place their name and/or
logos on bicycle stations in the public right-of-way and on bicycles. The City
Attorney’s office has conducted a preliminary review of this issue, and has indicated
that the placement of signs in the public right-of-way (as part of a bicycle sharing
program), regardless of the content of the signs, is prohibited under the existing sign
regulations set forth in the Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC). Therefore, an
amendment to the CCMC would be required in order to allow for signage in the
public right-of-way in relation to the bicycle sharing program. However, if the City
Council gives direction to further explore a potential WSCCOG bicycle sharing
program, further analysis by the City Attorney’s Office would need to be completed
regarding the best approach to address the issue of the content
(advertising/sponsorship) of signage in the public right-of-way.
If, in general, City Council supports this concept, staff will continue to coordinate with
staff from the other Westside cities regarding this program. Staff will also continue
to work with the City Attorney’s Office regarding the issue of program signage in the
public right-of-way and, if appropriate, return with proposed amendments to the
CCMC for City Council’s consideration.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
At this time, staff is not proposing a specific plan, and thus there is no direct cost to
this City Council action. There are indirect costs associated with the expenditure of
staff time. When a specific plan for a WSCCOG bicycle sharing program with
sponsorship by a private or non-profit agency is proposed, the goal would be a
revenue neutral program. A preliminary estimate for a bicycle sharing program
assuming five stations|1010| with 10 bicycles at each station would be:
Initial start-up costs: $230,000
Annual operating costs: $90,000
Annual marketing/administrative costs: unknown
To achieve a revenue-neutral program, these costs would have to be covered
through grants or sponsorship revenue.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Examples of Bicycle Sponsorship Programs
2. Bicycle Share Fact Sheet (prepared by West Hollywood)
|1010| Fewer or more stations may be deemed desirable pending evaluation. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
MOTION:
1. Provide direction on the concept of participating in a Westside Cities Council
of Governments bike sharing program and allowing a private or non-profit
agency sponsor rights to place their name and/or logos on bicycle stations in
the public right-of-way and on bicycles; and,
2. Direct staff to continue to work with the Westside Cities Council of
Governments on a Westside bicycle sharing program and work with the City
Attorney’s Office regarding the issue of program signage in the public right-of-
way and, if appropriate, return with proposed amendments to the CCMC for
City Council’s consideration.
MEETING DATE: 10/22/2012
AGENDA ITEM: Consideration of the Concept of Participating in a Westside
Cities Council of Government Bike Share Program, Including
Allowing Sponsorship in the Public Right-of-Way.
ATTACHMENTS
Pages
1 Examples of Bicycle Sponsorship Programs
1
2 Bicycle Share Fact Sheet (prepared by West Hollywood)
2-4
New York Bike Share Sponsorship (Citi)
London Bike Share Sponsorship (Barclays)
What is Bike Sharing
• Short-term bicycle access;
• Provides users with sustainable and environmentally-friendly form of public transportation;
• Targets daily mobility (trips between 1-2 miles or less);
• Membership required to participate, daily, weekly, monthly or annual membership basis,
user fee for rental (rental 30-60 minutes or less is free, low cost, price raises significantly
for longer use);
• Bicycle reservations, pick-up, and drop-off are self-service (IT-based);
We should start a bike share system! Why?
• Spontaneous Bike Trips
• Increased mobility options
• Reduce traffic congestion
• Complement transit and other modes
• Environmental, social, economic and health benefits
Bike Share Popularity
• Close to 160 systems throughout the world in over 120 countries;
• Increasing popularity in the US with 19 systems operating across the US, 20 additional
systems expected to launch within the next year;
• Systems range from small scale systems with less than ten bike stations to bigger systems
in DC, Boston, Madison, Portland, St. Paul, Miami, Omaha, Chicago and Denver with
station numbers ranging from 20-150;
• Number of bikes per station varies -average between 5-10;
• Ridership [small system(100-200 bikes/15-20 stations)] Averages 100 trips/day, annually;
• Trip distribution varies: 26% one-way, 42% round-trip, 21% both.
Components
• Planning
• Funding
• Operation
• MarketinPlanning Considerations
• Pilot program or full service program
• Locations and criteria development
- Number of stations
- Location of Bicycle Docking Stations (small/large-stations average 30-40 feet) in
PROW
- Local Service- destinations (1/4-% mile spacing)
- Regional Connectivity- destinations (bordered by LA and Beverly Hills)
- Transit Connectivity (last mile connections)
- Population/Retail/Job Density Considerations
- Tourist Attractions and Amenities
- Topography
• Bicycle Facilities to support increased bicycle use
• Safety (helmets, bikes on sidewalks)
• Coordination with Private Development
• Liability
Funding and Financial Viability
• Average Equipment Cost Estimate (bikes and stations)
• Average Annual Operating Cost Estimate
(maintenance of bikes, bike redistribution, customer
service, membership, etc.)
• Management, Promotion and Administrative Costs
Marketing of Program
• Education
• Partnerships
• Website/Social Media
• Bike Safety Resources
Business Models
• City owned and operated
• Advertising and Sponsorship Funded/Separate Operator
• Non-profit owned/operated
• For-profit business
• Combination
Funding Sources
• Government Grants
• Foundation/Private grants
• Company Sponsorship and/or Advertising
Coordination Efforts
$46,000 per station
$552,000 for 12 stations
$1,800 per bike
$?
• Westside Cities Council of Governments (Santa Monica Grant)
• Metro
• City of LA WSCOG Planning and Coordination Discussions
Compatibility of different systems with respect to:
• Equipment/technology
• Bicycle Drop off
• Payment/duration of rental period/technology
• Membership fee
• Advertising & Sponsorship - Regional Sponsor from Private Company for bicycles
Sponsorship on bike only - Decision pending
• Discussion of me-too clause for system roll-outs in different jurisdictions
METRO
Given Metro's regional role as the County's Transportation Planning agency, the potential role
for Metro in a countywide bike share program is as follows:
• Create Countywide Working Group
• Develop Interagency Agreement(s)
• Develop implementation plan, market/operating plan
• Work with Countywide Group to select technologies for an integrated countywide network
(to access bike share and bicycle parking stations)
• Work with jurisdictions to Identify possible funding sources (including private sector
participants)
• Provide space at Metro transit stations for bike share docking stations
For more information:
http:/ /nacto.org/bike-share-workshop-presentations/
http://www.metro.net/about us/committees/images/tac presentation feb 2012 Bike Share Concept.pdf
Fact Sheet prepared by City of West Hollywood
3