Title
Approving the agreement with Bird to provide e-scooter sharing services for the 2020 scooter season.
Body
WHEREAS, Mayor Carter’s Administration and the City of Saint Paul value innovation, resilience, and equity, including in transportation options; and
WHEREAS, electric-assist scooters ("e-scooters") are an emerging new mobility option that has proven very popular in other cities across the U.S. and internationally for moving around town using a low-carbon mobility option; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul permitted e-scooter sharing programs in 2018 and 2019 and has determined that the e-scooters served an important and valuable transportation service for Saint Paul residents and visitors; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to continue to permit e-scooters to operate on city property in 2020 by entering into agreements with up to two e-scooter vendors to operate a total of up to 2,000 e-scooters; and
WHEREAS, the agreement for the 2020 season limits the number of e-scooters permitted in the downtown area and requires a minimum percent of the e-scooter fleet be distributed throughout Areas of Concentrated Poverty; and
WHEREAS; the agreement for the 2020 season requires regular sanitation of scooters to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and
WHEREAS; the agreement for the 2020 season allows the City to require the e-scooter vendor to remove all e-scooters from the public right-of-way within 24 hours if determined to pose a threat to public safety due to COVID-19 or civil unrest; and
WHEREAS, per Chapter 141 of the Legislative Code regulating Shared Transportation Systems, vendors are required to have a contract with the City to operate, and that contract must be approved by City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City solicited applications from e-scooter vendors to provide e-scooter sharing services for the 2020 season; and
WHEREAS the city received an application from Bird to provide e-scooter sharing services and they are willing to comply with City ordinances regarding Shared Transportation Systems; and
WHEREAS, the contract with Bird includes an indemnification clause, whereby the City agrees to indemnify Bird for certain injury or damage arising from City employees’ use of the scooters, which Council finds reasonable and necessary to effectuate e-scooter services; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council hereby approves the attached agreement between the City and Bird to provide e-scooter sharing services for the 2020 season.