Report: Municipal Fees and Taxes Hinder Shared Micromobility Adoption

A new study from Portland and Sonoma state universities and Lime, shows that shared micromobility modes include about $0.70 per mile in city fees and taxes, a number much higher than the $0.03 per mile paid by the average driver, reports Gersh Kuntzman in Streetsblog USA.

The study highlights how municipal fees are stifling micromobility and making it, in some cases, more expensive than driving. “The report found that governments across North America take on average nearly 14 percent of fare revenues in the form of sales taxes from riders, who are in a sense double-taxed because cities often also charge an operating fee to shared micromobility companies, a fee that is typically passed onto the consumer.”

The report notes that shared micromobility fees and taxes are higher than other modes of travel, including personal vehicles and ride-hailing.

While the authors did not recommend optimal fee amounts, they concluded, “We recommend that cities align fees with overarching municipal transportation [sustainability] goals and use well-established principles of taxation and administration to determine the structure of fees.”