Boulder transportation staff report sharp growth in shared e-bike and e-scooter ridership, outline parking and safety measures

Boulder — City transportation staff told the Transportation Advisory Board on Feb. 10 that Boulder’s shared micromobility program — the city’s contracted B Cycle e-bikes and Lime e-scooters — has expanded substantially since 2021 and that staff are using parking corrals, geofencing and fines to manage parking and safety while pursuing equity programs and further program monitoring.

“Shared micromobility offers yet another multimodal transportation choice to advance our goals around reduced VMT and greenhouse gas emissions and often serves as a first and last mile solution to connect to transit,” said Allison Moore Farrell, senior transportation planner in the city’s Transportation and Mobility division.

The update described ridership, operational rules and the management steps the city and providers have taken since the scooter pilot and subsequent citywide expansion. Staff presented ridership figures, estimated vehicle trips replaced using national-mode-shift studies, enforcement steps for improper parking and equity provisions that providers must meet.

City figures and staff statements

Allison Moore Farrell said B Cycle’s fleet and membership arrangements contributed to strong ridership: between September 2023 and December 2024 B Cycle registered nearly 1.1 million rides (about 2,200 trips per day), with trips averaging about 15 minutes and two miles. The city reported roughly 777,000 shared e-bike trips in 2024 when presented by calendar year. Farrell said Lime e-scooter ridership rose sharply after fall 2023 citywide expansion, with 692,000 rides reported for 2024 and nearly 1,000,000 shared e-scooter rides in the September 2023–December 2024 comparison period used by staff.

To estimate vehicle trips displaced, staff applied national studies by NACTO and NAPSA showing approximately a 40% mode shift from micromobility to vehicle trips; using that metric, Farrell said shared e-bikes have removed an estimated 440,000 vehicle trips and shared e-scooters about 380,000 vehicle trips from Boulder streets over the 16-month comparison window cited in the presentation.

Program rules, enforcement and infrastructure

Staff outlined technical and operational tools used to manage the system: no-go zones (areas where devices cut power, such as the Pearl Street Mall and parts of the CU campus); slow zones that cap vehicle-assist at 10 mph in sensitive areas; no-parking zones; and mandatory parking zones/corrals (also called “Lime groves”).

Farrell said mandatory parking corrals are placed above the curb at likely origins and destinations and that the city has seen “good compliance” where corrals and geofencing are combined with warnings and fines. Under the enforcement described, a rider receives a warning for a first parking offense and a $10 fine for a second offense if they do not end a trip in an approved corral; the ride meter may continue to charge if a user leaves a device outside a corral.

Farrell said the micromobility agreement requires providers to send the city $0.15 per ride; the city reinvests those fees in education campaigns and infrastructure for the micromobility program. Farrell also said infrastructure for B Cycle docks and Lime corrals is built by the provider at locations developed in coordination with city staff and multiple departments, including maintenance, engineering, police and fire to ensure compatibility with snow removal and emergency access. Providers submit revocable permits for city approval where applicable.

Safety and reporting

Staff said safety incidents remain rare compared with overall trips and noted that reporting likely undercounts minor falls and incidents without property damage. Farrell said B Cycle reported 16 e-bike safety incidents in 2024 and Boulder Police reported 8 e-bike incidents; Lime reported 36 scooter incidents and Boulder Police reported 19 scooter incidents. Staff said there were zero fatalities on the shared micromobility system in 2024.

Speed limits are technically enforced by capping electric assist: Farrell and Steven Rijo, the city’s transportation planning manager, said shared devices are capped at 15 mph in normal zones and 10 mph in slow zones, and that the assist cuts out at the cap so sustained higher speeds require substantial human effort.

Equity and access

Farrell said city code requires providers to offer 30-minute annual passes to income-qualified community members and that Lime must place 15% of its fleet in designated equity areas. B Cycle operates a Book-a-Bike partnership with the Boulder Library that allows seven-day checkouts. Staff also noted programs that provide free access for Boulder Housing Partners residents.

Board questions and next steps

Board members asked about program revenue and costs, speed monitoring, whether the city receives similar data from rideshare providers, and how well the corrals serve people who do not use smartphones. Farrell confirmed the $0.15 per ride fee structure and said those funds are invoiced quarterly and reinvested in program needs; she said corrals and in-app messaging make parking locations visible to riders and that the city is using the vendor’s backend dashboard (Ride Report / Dr. Cog resource referenced in the presentation) to make data-driven adjustments.

Rijo said speed data is available and could be included in future analyses, though distinguishing shared devices from personal devices in some datasets may be difficult. Board members discussed possible future agenda items including council briefings; staff said the board may request that staff brief City Council if the board wishes.

Why this matters

Staff framed the program as supporting Boulder’s multimodal goals by replacing vehicle trips and providing first/last-mile connections to transit and major destinations including CU Boulder, downtown and Chautauqua. Board members generally praised the program’s growth and urged more attention to equitable outreach, corrals near dense housing and high schools, and continued monitoring of parking behavior and safety.

Ending

Farrell closed by saying staff will continue to monitor performance and iterate on parking, enforcement and education measures and will follow up with the TAB on requests for additional data.