MILPITAS — Shared scooters and e-bikes that have proliferated in San Jose and other dense, larger cities around the Bay Area could soon be coming to the streets of Milpitas.
With the city’s BART station opening last year and thousands of housing units still springing up around it as well as other transit options, city officials recently signaled their support for creating a one-year pilot program with a private company to distribute shared pedal bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters for rent around the city.
The City Council supported pursuing a pilot program despite concerns about the possibility of blocked sidewalks, scooters ending up in waterways, and the potential for pushback from residents.
“Having the bike and scooter share options is really almost a necessity,” Mayor Rich Tran said during the April 6 council meeting. “That being said, this is Milpitas, and our community is not really gung-ho about it. But I don’t think that should stop the city from supporting it.
“A lot of folks in town, they don’t want to see these bikes and scooters scattered all over the place.”
Milpitas has “been approached by a couple of different vendors” about having a so-called “micromobility” option in the city, Planning Director Ned Thomas said at the meeting.
Shared bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters are a popular option for completing a commute loop during the “first and last mile” stages, added City Planner Jay Lee.
“Really to connect commuters from their home to that first transit stop, and when they come back after work, to get from that transit stop to their home, which is often the thing that deters people from taking public transit, if the right solution isn’t there,” Lee said at the meeting
Lee said that bikes and scooters are also commonly used for recreation.
In 2017, Lee said people in the U.S. took 35 million trips on shared bikes or scooters, 84 million trips in 2018, and 136 million in 2019, according to data from the National Association of City Transportation Officials.
Trips from all types of transportation modes dropped sharply in 2020 during the pandemic, but city staff reports said many bike and scooter share systems “experienced a much smaller drop in ridership, and have largely rebounded.”
It’s unclear how many bikes and scooters initially would be placed in the city in a pilot program.
The pilot would likely include a “hybrid” approach to docking in which some bikes may be required to be locked at designated stations, while other bikes and scooters may be allowed to be parked in many more places, such as affixed to a street post, so long as the devices don’t obstruct sidewalks.
City staff reports said the bike share portion of the program would likely be focused near the BART station area at 1755 S Milpitas Blvd., near the Great Mall. The the scooter portion would be focused west of Interstate 880 near commercial areas, and also east of Interstate 680 near residential areas south of Calaveras Boulevard.
Tran said he thinks the service areas should be expanded, and should ensure people can get to and from BART, city hall, and major shopping centers such as Serra Place and Milpitas Town Center.
Councilwoman Karina Dominguez said she is concerned about scooters crowding street corners or ending up in other places they don’t belong.
“Sometimes we find these scooters in our creeks or in our watersheds, so I am really concerned about that battery pack that is charged and what it is doing to our watersheds,” she added.
Dominguez also said she wants signs to be installed along the usage areas to remind people how to use and park the devices safely, so sidewalks and curb ramps are not blocked.
Councilman Anthony Phan also suggested that helmets be included with each device to protect riders.
City staff said they would bring back a possible pilot program for approval at a future meeting, though a timeline was not provided at the meeting.
The council supported doing community outreach about the program before one could be set up, so residents can share their thoughts.
“As we move forward, we really have to have the community engagement piece because our residents will sound off,” Tran said. “My input is to move it forward, but to do it with some of the highest levels of community engagement possible.
“We really have to get this right,” he said, “because there will be one day a lot of bikes and scooters.”