15 mph
“Scooter” means a low-speed electric mobility device, as that [...] is powered by an electric motor that is capable of propelling the device with or without human propulsion at a speed no more than 15 miles per hour on a paved level surface.
Operating Area Types:Designated area: The pilot area for the pilot program shall be the entire portion of the City bounded as follows, and as shown in the attached Pilot Area Map: beginning at the intersection of North California Avenue and West Irving Park Road; thence east on West Irving Park Road to the North Branch Chicago River; thence southeasterly along the North Branch Chicago River to North Halsted Street; thence south on North Halsted Street to the South Branch of Chicago River; hence southwesterly along the South Branch of Chicago River to South Cicero Avenue; thence north on South Cicero Avenue to West Pershing Road; thence east on West Pershing Road to the Chicago Belt Railroad; thence north along the Chicago Belt Railroad to Roosevelt Road; thence west on Roosevelt Road to South Austin Boulevard; thence north on South Austin Boulevard to West North Avenue; thence west on West North Avenue to Harlem Avenue; thence north on Harlem Avenue to West Irving Park Road; hence east on West Irving Park Road to the place of the beginning. The pilot area includes two sub-areas: Priority Sub-Area 1 and Priority Sub-Area 2.
Operating area: 50 mi2
Areas Where Operation is Prohibited:The permit authorizes vendors to operate only within the pilot area from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Scooters must be parked in compliance with Section 9-52-070 of the Code, which states that: “No person shall park a bicycle upon a street other than upon the roadway against the curb or upon the sidewalk against a rack, parking meter or sign pole to support the bicycle or against a building or at the curb in such manner as to afford the least obstruction to pedestrian traffic.” Under the law scooters must be parked as a bike would be parked.
Prohibited: park on a street other than upon the roadway against the curb or upon the sidewalk against a rack, parking meter or sign pole to support the bicycle or against a building or at the curb; within 10 feet of street corners or intersections, or along building facades or block fire hydrants, bus stops, loading zones, or building access points.
An applicant must be able to geo-fence so that its scooters cannot be operated outside of the pilot area, or other areas as the Commissioner may define at a later date, including the ability to decelerate and ultimately stop within a quarter of a mile a scooter that is being operated from inside the pilot area to outside of the pilot area.
none
City regulations: no pedals, no more than 26 inches wide, powered by an electric motor that is capable of propelling the device with or without human propulsion at a speed no more than 15 miles per hour on a paved level surface; warning bell, a front white light, and a rear red light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet and that stays illuminated for at least 90 seconds after coming to a full stop, hand and foot brakes, and a unique identifierMaximum fleet permitted per provider: 3,500
The total number of scooters for the pilot program shall be a minimum of 2,500 and a maximum of 3,500, as the Commissioner determines based on the total number of eligible applicants. 2. Each eligible applicant’s number of allowed scooters for the business operations window shall be: the total number of scooters for the pilot program divided by the total number of eligible applicants.
| Type | Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Application | USD$ 250 | |
| Per Vehicle | USD$ 1 | Daily |
| Operating Permit | N/A |
An applicant shall pay a permit application fee of $250.00 plus a $120.00-per-scooter, which is the equivalent of $1-per-day-per-scooter during the business operations window of the pilot program, administrative fee to address costs incurred by the City in relation to the pilot program. These may include costs related to administration, monitoring, and use of the public way.
Payment Method Requirements:
Required: cash payment options for the unbanked community
Connection to Other Government Goals:
The pilot tested the viability of scooters as a mobility option and was designed to maximize safety and minimize sidewalk clutter.
Government Parking Requirement:
Equity Requirements:
Required: operations and communications programming that addresses equity issues to expand mobility to people facing financial and technological barriers, including: cash payment options for the unbanked community, create and distribute print publications and a webpage explaining their cash payment options, phone access, program qualifications (if any), and how residents can access scooters via these methods. Encouraged: hiring plan to identify, train, and employ historically disadvantaged residents; have have specific contracting goals for minority and women-owned businesses. Vendors are encouraged to hire: (i) 75% of their staff from Chicago; and (ii) at least 30% of their staff from job training placement programs operating in Chicago.
Required:
plan to publicize the pilot program, including by participating in the inaugural launch event and disseminating public messaging about the pilot program;
educate scooter users to be courteous of public way use and encourage proper parking behavior;
marketing and targeted community outreach plan at their own cost by distributing education and outreach materials to communities in the pilot area;
work with local businesses or other organizations to promote the use of helmets by scooter users through partnerships, promotional credits, and other incentives;
have easily visible contact information on each of its scooters used in the pilot program to receive direct notice of any issues or incidents regarding operation of its scooters during the pilot program, including the vendor’s name, website and email address, a toll-free phone number with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week customer support hotline in English, with translation services available in the following languages: Spanish, Polish, Korean, Arabic, Hindi and Mandarin. The vendor must also display contact information on its website and smartphone applications;
be equipped with photo and geo-fencing technology to ensure parking compliance. A vendor must require its customers to properly park scooters they rented and must also require those customers who rent scooters with their smartphones to send pictures of such properly parked scooters to the vendor at the end of the trip.
Data Specification Requirements:
GPS Required? Yes
Data Requirements:
Required: share API endpoints that adhere to MDS, data sharing API that is compatible with the GBFS, City is provided with authentication tokens for accessing the MDS data, At the City’s request, vendors shall submit historical data that is no longer available on the MDS API. Customer reports in an additional field using one of the following: Admin Issue, Sign Up Assistance, Maintenance, Feedback, General Question, Crash, Mechanical Issue, Missing or Stolen Scooter, Parking Complaint
Public data reporting:
Chicago data portal
Public data reporting URL: See data reporting website