Shared Micromobility Poised for Advancement as Infrastructure Becomes a US Federal Priority
The worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust us all into unprecedented times. Record unemployment rates and an increasingly dire climate crisis forces us all to consider ways to contribute to our communities’ recovery and betterment.
Newly elected President Joe Biden is proposing his Build Back Better plan as part of the solution. Among other things, the plan outlines how the administration plans to tackle the unemployment rate, racial inequity, and the climate crisis while also taking steps to create modern, sustainable infrastructure. With federal recognition and aid, shared micromobility can help make progress towards achieving these goals.
Biden’s infrastructure and clean energy plan proposes federal investments in zero-emissions transportation options and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. New US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has shown strong support for Complete Streets initiatives and national Vision Zero strategy, expanding safe infrastructure for walking and biking, and investments in public transportation. These policies promote and support the use of shared micromobility as well. NABSA continues to communicate with the Administration and policymakers to work to establish reauthorization and infrastructure packages that invest in the ability for citizens to choose environmentally-friendly modes, like bikeshare and shared e-scooters, to get to where they need to go.
While these policy proposals are an encouraging first step, NABSA recommends that federal policymakers go further to leverage shared micromobility to create green jobs and build sustainable transportation options that help meet climate goals and build resilient transit systems for the future. NABSA recommends the following inclusions in transportation policy this year:
- Ensure that bikeshare is included as an “associated transit improvement,” as proposed by HR 382, The Bikeshare Transit Act of 2021, and as passed in the House INVEST Act, and include shared e-scooters as an “associated transit improvement” as well.
- Ensure that HR 384, The Bicycle Commuter Act of 2021, which extends the Commuter Tax Benefit to include bikeshare, passes, as it has already passed within the House INVEST Act, and include an amendment that extends the Act to shared e-scooters.
- Amend Section 149 of title 23, United States Code to include shared micromobility as an eligible expense of the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ), as proposed in the Bikeshare Transit Act of 2021 and in the House-passed INVEST Act.
- Ensure the passage of the new Community Climate Innovation Grant and Carbon Pollution Reduction program proposed in the INVEST Act, and ensure eligibility for shared micromobility in these programs
For over a decade, bikeshare and shared micromobility has helped cities reduce congestion, improve community health, address climate change, increase public transit coverage, and support goals for vulnerable roadway user safety. In 2019, Americans took 136 million trips on shared bikes and scooters in 264 cities. Across North America, 36% of shared micromobility trips replaced a car trip, shared micromobility trips offset 65 million pounds of CO2 emissions by replacing auto trips, and North Americans gained almost 30 million hours of additional physical activity by creating new trips and replacing motorized trips.²
Federal support and recognition of shared micromobility as part of American transit ecosystems is a crucial piece of any plan to build back better US transportation infrastructure that puts jobs, climate, and equity at the fore, and realizes a people-centered vision for cities and communities of the future.
¹ NABSA 2019 State of the Industry Report; 2019 NACTO Report