Seattle, which will be losing it's bikeshare program after just over two years, may wish to have San Francisco's problem: a second bikeshare company wants to enter the marketplace, though without permits.
[Updated 1/20/2017] China-based Bluegogo is rumored to want to disrupt the bikeshare market in San Francisco by placing as many as "tens of thousands" of their bicycles on San Francisco streets," reported Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez for the San Francisco Examiner on Jan. 11. The clearly marked blue bicycles "will be available for rent via an app."
Why doesn't Bluegogo go 800 miles north and drop their bikes in Seattle in March, when Pronto! is expected to exit the city?
Here's the problem: Bluegogo has not sought permission, and they would be occupying city sidewalks without the requisite permits. Last month the city booted Uber's self-driving cars because they refused to apply for permits, and Uber is based in San Francisco.
"Now city agencies have threatened legal action against bikeshare company Bluegogo should it expand into San Francisco, the San Francisco Examiner has learned," reports Rodriguez on Jan. 17.
San Francisco Public Works and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the two city agencies with most oversight over bikes and city streets, ...warned Bluegogo CEO Gang Li [via letter] that his company has no legal grounds to expand into San Francisco under its current business model.
Bay Area Bike Share, launched as a pilot project by the regional air district in August 2013, and now operated by Motivate under contract to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is poised to expand from 700 to 7,000 bikes.
This spring, BABS will undergo a name change Ford GoBike to reflect Ford Motor Company as the new title sponsor and an important partner of the program. Ownership and operation will continue under Motivate under contract to MTC.
Hat tip to Roger Rudick of Streetsblog San Francisco.
FULL STORY: SF threatens legal action against bikeshare company rumored to launch on city streets
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.