San Antonio committee advances pilot to expand micromobility and explore electric carriage transition

Rick Riley, deputy director in the San Antonio Police Department, told the committee the city enforces Chapter 33 for electric-vehicle-for-hire services and presented usage data and operating limits as the committee weighed expanding micromobility pilots. "Desde noviembre del 2022, el capítulo 33 ha gobernado los el servicio de vehículos eléctricos," Riley said, noting operators must be state-registered and vehicles are limited to streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less. He reported, "ha habido 22000 viajes este año."

John Jacks of the Department of City Operations outlined the city's contracts with scooter- and bike-share vendors and the scale of permitted fleets. "Cada una de estas compañías está autorizada para tener hasta 1000 vehículos en su flota," he said, and staff described typical trip lengths (about 10–12 minutes) and fare structures for bike-share memberships and passes. Jacks also detailed station locations concentrated downtown and near visitor assets such as the Álamo and the River Walk.

Council members focused on permit limits, equity among owners and the logistics of a carriage electrification pathway. Several members noted the existing numeric caps—staff cited 25 permits for carriages, with five permits reserved for UTSA service—and asked whether permits should transfer directly to electric carriages or be reallocated. "Alguien que opera 10 carruajes... sería importante de encontrar la manera de una equidad en el futuro," one council member said, urging the city to avoid concentrating permits with a few owners.

Members also pressed staff for cost and operational detail for vehicle electrification. "¿Cuál es el costo de operación para esas diferentes industrias?" asked Concejal Spears; staff estimated an initial vehicle cost in the range cited in the presentation (one exchange referenced "20000 dólares" for certain carriage vehicles and lower figures for other electric models) and said offices could follow up with vendor and peer-city cost studies.

Staff recommended staged, data-driven pilots and stakeholder meetings with carriage owners, drivers and industry to craft transfer rules, insurance requirements and permit-allocation approaches. The committee moved a motion to proceed with a pilot for the micromobility/vehicle-permit recommendations (agenda item 0.3); the motion was seconded and taken by voice vote.

The committee asked staff to return with analysis of congestion impacts, suggested pilot geographies (event corridors, UTSA routes and downtown), and specifics on insurance and equipment standards needed for electric carriages. The meeting record shows the committee approved the pilot motion by voice vote and directed staff to engage industry stakeholders and collect pilot data.