Taxes and fees imposed by cities on micromobility programs like bike share and scooter share vary tremendously and often are higher than most other modes of transportation.

"Taxing Shared Micromobility: Assessing the Global Landscape of Fees and Taxes and their Implications for Cities, Riders, and Operators,” by John MacArthur of Portland State University, Kevin Fang of Sonoma State University, and Calvin Thigpen of Lime, examined data from 120 cities in 16 countries and surveyed shared micromobility program managers throughout North America.

Shared micromobility is taxed twice: By sales taxes and program fees. These revenues can be substantial. On average, annual fees were $0.22 per mile or $0.28 per trip in 2022. When sales taxes are included, the average shared micromobility trip generates fee and tax revenue of $0.70 per mile or $0.89 per trip. This is a combined global average rate of 16.4% in taxes and fees derived from user fares.

When deciding on fees, cities are especially concerned with covering administrative costs as well as influencing operator behaviors.

The information can “help inform cities who are working with shared micromobility companies to align program fee structures with their goals around climate, equity, congestion, and more,” according to the 108-page report.
 

Protected bike lanes, intersection treatments, and reallocated space for biking and walking are some of the common traits found among the top cities and towns for bicycling.

The 2024 City Ratings from PeopleForBikes (PFB) are here. City Ratings aim to identify, evaluate, and compare the best cities and towns for bicycling. More than 2,500 cities worldwide were ranked in the seventh annual ratings, including 816 new cities in the U.S and 133 new cities across the U.K. and Australia. The Boulder, Colorado-based advocacy nonprofit adds cities to its ratings based on requests received throughout the year.

PeopleForBikes identifies the most bike-friendly cities by analyzing six key factors:
* Safe speeds
* Protected bike lanes
* Reallocated space for biking and walking
* Intersection treatments
* Network connections
* Trusted data

The annual report breaks down cities into three categories: small, with a population of less than 50,000; medium, 50,000 to 300,000, and large, more than 300,000. Based on data from PFB’s Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), each city receives a City Ratings score on a scale of 1-100.

To explore 2024 City Ratings, click here.

Pedestrian deaths continue to rise in the United States, with 7,522 people struck and killed while walking in 2022 – roughly the equivalent of three full Boeing 737 airplanes falling out of the sky each month for a year.

The latest Dangerous By Design from Smart Growth America includes pedestrian fatality statistics for the most recent year with complete federal data and ranks the largest 101 metropolitan areas. While the increase is 1.8 percent year-over-year, up from 7,388 deaths in 2021, pedestrian deaths in the last decade are up 25 percent compared to the previous 10 years. There were 61,459 pedestrians struck and killed from 2013 to 2022 compared with 45,935 from 2003 to 2012.

Florida continues to dominate the list with eight of the top 20 deadliest metros, despite two of those being among the few trending lower over the longer term.

Comparing five-year periods (2013-2017 versus 2018-2022), the largest 101 metros grew by 1.7 percent while the total number of deaths in those metros increased by almost 26 percent. The top 20 most deadly metros grew by 5.1 percent but total fatalities increased by 37 percent. Only 18 metro areas showed a decline in the long-term trend in the fatality rate.

Fast-growing metros in the South and Sun Belt are still the deadliest, keeping up with population growth or surpassing it. Urban areas are increasing in danger faster – up 61 percent – than rural areas, which are up 41 percent. Overall, traffic deaths are holding flat in rural areas since 2013.

Memphis, Tenn., is the deadliest city for pedestrian with 5.14 per 100,000 pedestrians who are hit and killed by cars while walking, almost three times the rate recorded in 2009.
 

Most docked bikeshare systems experienced an increase in ridership last year, led by expansion in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., according to new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Pittsburgh’s POGOH, formerly Healthy Ride, experienced the sharpest increase in ridership last year, growing 201 percent thanks to an expansion. It was far and away the largest spurt, far outdistancing MetroBike LA, which was up 37 percent, followed closely by Capital Bike Share in Washington, D.C, up 36 percent. Capital Bike Share added more e-bikes to the system in the spring and BTS cited a “greater presence of workers” in D.C. area buildings.

Not all bikeshares saw growth; ridership declined on four systems: 

• Indego, Philadelphia, -10 percent 
• BlueBikes, Boston, -5 percent 
• Bay Wheels, San Francisco, -5 percent 
• Divvy, Chicago, -1 percent

With the exception of Bay Wheels, growth in years prior to 2023 more than offset the declines in these four systems experienced in 2020, when the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced ridership on almost all systems, according to the BTS. Ridership on Bay Wheels was 4 percentage points below the 2019 level in 2023.

As of June 30, 2023, 56 docked bikeshare systems open to the public operated 8,796 docking stations in the U.S., according to the BTS. The average system operates 154 docking stations. The largest system (Citi Bike serving New York City; Jersey City, N.J.; and, Hoboken, N.J.) operates nearly 2,000 stations and 6 systems have 10 or fewer stations.

The number of docked bikeshare systems nearly doubled, from 66 to 109, between 2015 and 2019, then declined to 64 in 2020 as many docked bikeshare systems closed permanently following a temporary suspension of operations due to the pandemic.

Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bike Share is the oldest system, started in 2010, while Cogo in Columbus, Ohio, is the youngest, having started in 2018.

BTS compiles bike share and e-scooter data for both docked and dockless in the U.S. In January 2023, BTS expanded its docked bikeshare data to include data for years prior to 2019, with records beginning at the launch of most docked bikeshare systems.
 

Amid soaring sales of e-bikes and e-scooters in recent years, there’s a lack of awareness among owners about the lithium-ion batteries that power the devices that could lead to risky behavior and even deadly fires, according to recent surveys.

The nine-page report, Raising the Risk: How Safety Oversights of E-Mobility Riders Threaten More Lithium-Ion Battery Fires, by UL Standards and Engagements (ULSE) shows that more than half of owners (53 percent) continue charging batteries even after reaching a full charge while almost as many (41 percent) routinely charge overnight.

Almost half of e-bikers (49 percent) who charge at home block fire exits – a contributing factor in several cases where death occurred. More than a quarter of users (26 percent) report charging batteries unattended while away from home. It takes only 20 seconds from the first sign of smoke to a room being engulfed in flames from a lithium-ion battery, while a traditional fire typically takes about three minutes, according to tests by First Safety Research Institute.

The findings are derived from two separate online surveys of 2,200 U.S. adults on e-mobility safety, conducted in January and April.

Almost half of e-bike owners (48 percent) have replaced their old e-bike battery for a variety of reasons, including:

• 28 percent, swelling or bulging on the old battery
• 24 percent, old battery overheating
• 16 percent, old battery damaged from a crash or collision
• 11 percent, old battery caught fire

For e-bikes and scooters, ULSE has three standards that cover devices and batteries that power them:

• UL 2849, the standard for e-bikes
• UL 2272, for personal e-mobility devices
• UL 2271, the standard for lithium-ion batteries in e-mobility devices

Researchers are in the midst of trying to sort out the impacts of remote work since the pandemic on transit systems and the environment.

After falling to 20 percent of pre-pandemic levels at the onset of the pandemic in April 2020, public transit ridership has recovered to 79 percent. Transit riders took 7.1 billion trips on public transportation in 2023, a 16-percent increase over 2022, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which released a quarterly ridership update during its annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

“Current data remains limited, but indicators in several metro regions point to transit recovery being led by trips to and from residential and commercial areas as opposed to office/work centers,” according to the APTA. “More time and data are needed to determine if this transit demand shift will remain the driving force for ridership return.”

Meanwhile, a study published this week in Nature Cities estimates that a 10-percent decrease in on-site employees could yield an annual reduction of almost 192 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector. At the same time, it would cost transit agencies $3.7 billion in lost fare revenues each year within the contiguous United States. The impact, however, varies widely by region.

The estimate is based on a 1-percent decline in on-site employees that corresponds to a 0.99-percent reduction in state-level vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and a 2.26-percent drop in transit ridership. The study, “Impacts of remote work on vehicle miles traveled and transit ridership in the USA,” examined data between April 2020 and October 2022 across the 217 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the United States.
 

More bicycle infrastructure can improve safety for all road users as it heightens the visibility and awareness of bicyclists and pedestrians have “strength in numbers” but the strongest relationship with improved safety are lower vehicle speeds and fewer vehicle trips that are likely a result of high-density land use development and transportation networks. 

Those are the findings of a recent study, “Traffic safety for all road users: A paired comparison study of small & mid-sized U.S. cities with high/low bicycling rates,” published in the Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research by Nicholas N. Ferenchak, assistant professor in the Gerald May Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Mexico, and Wesley E. Marshall, professor at the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado-Denver. 

“If cities wish to improve traffic safety outcomes, they should first and foremost plan and design for the convenience and safety of those not using a personal automobile,” the authors noted. Bicycling activity is significantly associated with better safety for all road users, and reduced exposure to driving has the strongest relationship with improved safety. Safer mid-sized cities tend to be more compact. 

The authors examined 10 years of data across 14 small and mid-sized U.S. cities with populations between 50,000 and 200,000 residents. Seven high-bicycling cities (those with high bike commuter mode share greater than triple the national average of 0.5 percent) were paired with seven cities that had low or average rates of bicycle commuting but otherwise similar population and geography. 

Read the full study here.
 

Intercity bus traffic is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2026 even as the high-profile bus station closings continue.

“Back on the Bus,” the annual intercity bus review by the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University in Chicago notes ridership gains in some regions as traffic rose to roughly 85 to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The 20-page report includes a year in review for 2023 and five predictions for 2024.

Driver shortages and other problems could slow the recovery, “which will be uneven across regions, but trends are favorable.” Problems stemming from station closures will get worse before they get better and even after the recovery, the report suggests that traffic will remain marginally below 2016 levels.

"The image of legacy bus lines took a hit as bus station problems facing Greyhound and its partners continued. More downtown depots were closed and services were relocated to curbside spots or modest facilities without much or sometimes any indoor seating.”

More downtown bus stations in prominent cities are at risk of closing this year, including Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, and Orlando. They would follow recent station closings in Houston, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Tampa, among others.

The study described Little Rock, Ark., station as a “poster child for the bus-station woes now facing the industry,” with its closure last year. It’s a primary stop in the region but local government “has taken a hostile stance toward resumption of intercity bus service and derailed attempts to find a new station.”

The complete report can be found here.
 

Protected bicycle lanes marked with simple traffic cones and plastic delineators were associated with a reduction in average maximum speeds of 20 to 30 percent. 

The findings come from an analysis of almost 10,000 cars during a temporary pilot demonstration project in Asbury Park, N.J., where bike lanes were both painted and delineated with traffic cones. The study incorporated 24-hour video footage of the intersection for 10 dates in March and April 2022. 

“The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes,” by nine researchers at Rutgers University, including the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, will be published in the June volume of the Journal of Urban Mobility. 

Average top speeds of vehicles dropped by 28 percent, by 21 percent for vehicles turning right, and by up to 8 percent for drivers going straight. Painted-only bike lanes were also associated with a reduction of 11 to 15 percent solely for vehicles turning right. Traffic moving perpendicular to the bicycle lane experienced no decrease in speeds. Bicycle lanes with traffic delineators will have a stronger traffic calming effect, such as reductions in speed, than with painted-only bike lanes, according to the study. 

“In the context of traffic safety and Vision Zero initiatives, this finding is significant in that it suggests that delineated bike lanes can reduce traffic speeds, making the overall road environment safer for all. The pop-up bike lane reduced the traffic lane width and created a sharper turning radius, which likely served as a traffic calming mechanism.” 

The complete report can be found here. 

Seven in 10 Americans support raising the federal gas tax by 10 cents per gallon if the revenue would be dedicated to maintenance or safety.

“What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Transportation? Results from Year Fourteen of a National Survey,” by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University provides an annual snapshot into how Americans view raising revenues via higher gas taxes or new mileage fees.

While 71 percent supported raising the gas tax if funds were dedicated to maintaining the transportation system, only 40 percent supported the increase if money were spent more generally “for transportation.” More than two-thirds of respondents (69 percent) agreed with using some revenue to support public transit, which has varied since 2013 between 61 and 72 percent.

A majority of respondents supported the idea of replacing the gas tax with a varying “green” mileage fee based on how much a vehicle pollutes. Since the survey began in 2010, support for both higher gas taxes and a hypothetical new mileage fee has “risen slowly but steadily,” from 22 and 34 percent, respectively.

A funding shortfall of $250 billion is projected over the next decade for the Highway Trust Fund. At the same time, the growing trend of EV sales has led a coalition of states to explore mileage-based user fees. See more in this story from InTransition.

Data was collected from a nationally representative sample of 2,531 adults living in the United States who completed an online survey in February and March 2023, with results published in November. Complete survey results are available in this 63-page report.
 

The City of Oslo, Norway, saw a nearly 13 percent increase in electric bicycle (e-bike) use after offering residents a significant incentive, according to a new study.

While e-bikes require less physical exertion than traditional bicycles, their increased use does not lead to a significant decrease in physical activity in other areas, according to the study, "The effects of subsidising e-bikes on mode share and physical activity – A natural experiment,” by Hanne Beate SundfØr, Sveinung Berntsen, Elling Tufte Bere, and Aslak Fyhri. The 13-page study will be published in the Journal of Transport & Health in March.

While the program resulted in an overall increase in cycling and active transportation, the study’s authors concluded that more research with more precise measurements is needed to evaluate the impact on overall physical activity.

The Oslo City Council offered incentives covering half the cost of an e-bike, a maximum of 5,000 Krone (about $475 U.S.). The study examined the third round of incentives, which were awarded in 2020. Of the 14,581 people who applied, 1,100 were awarded subsidies. Participants were asked to estimate the total time spent traveling via various modes over a one-week period.

The incentives had a “positive impact on cycling behavior among the intervention group,” according to the study, with an increase in both distance traveled and share of cycling as a mode of transport. The rise in e-bike use for daily travel was accompanied by a decrease in conventional cycling and walking, however, the study found an overall increase in minutes from active transportation.
 

A growing share of people who have the option to work remotely are willing to relocate 20 minutes farther away, with affordability a primary motivator. The share rose from 14 percent in late 2021 to 22 percent in early 2023. That is among the findings of an analysis of Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey of 3,000 mortgage holders, owners, and renters.

Housing affordability and neighborhood desirability are the top concerns among all homeowners and renters in choosing locations, with affordability becoming more important since 2014. Thirty-five percent of non-retired consumers expect to have some type of remote work by the end of 2023.

While people increasingly are willing to relocate, whether they can do so is hampered by a tight housing market. Based to a December 2023 Housing survey, Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan says “even if mortgage rates decline over the next year, which we currently expect, it’s unlikely to meaningfully affect affordability. The lack of housing inventory is likely to remain a challenge for some time, and home purchase sentiment may continue to be suppressed as a result.”
 

Narrowing travel lanes is associated with significantly lower numbers of non-intersection traffic crashes within speeds of 30 to 35 mph, according to a new study.

A National Investigation on the Impacts of Lane Width on Traffic Safety: Narrowing Travel Lanes as an Opportunity to Promote Biking and Pedestrian Facilities Within the Existing Roadway Infrastructure by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health included analysis of more than 1,000 street sections across seven cities. Researchers also interviewed officials at five state Departments of Transportation.

The most immediate candidates for lane width reduction projects may be urban streets of 11 to 13 feet within the 20 to 35 mph range that don’t serve transit or freight, according to the 129-page study.

“Narrowing travel lanes is the easiest and most cost-effective way to accommodate better sidewalk and bike lane facilities within the existing roadway infrastructure,” the authors noted. However, reducing lane widths is likely to have limited benefit if other street design changes are ignored so the study promotes context-sensitive design in general.

The analysis includes some caveats: Nine- and 10-foot lanes may not be the best width for freight or bus corridors and only two cities in the study experience snowy winters (Denver and Salt Lake City).

The full report is available here.
 

Shared micromobility trips are up by 40 percent since 2018 and have increased 35-fold from 2010, with 130 million total trips on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2022 across the U.S. and Canada.

Shared Micromobility in 2022, a 24-page report from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), examines data from across North America on station-based bike share, dockless e-scooters and dockless e-bikes.

In the United States, station-based bike share trips increased by 11% overall from the previous year.

The average pay-per-ride trip on station-based bike share was 17 minutes compared with 10 minutes on most trips taken via shared bikes and e-scooters. Trip pricing varies by membership but the report noted that reduced fare options help expand access, which is uneven for people without a credit card or smart phone.

Ten major station-based bike share systems in Canada and the U.S. accounted for 82% of the increase in trips from 2021. “Continued expansion of the largest systems, particularly in Canada, and a sustained interest in e-bikes, drove much of the station-based bike share ridership growth in 2022,” according to the report.

The full report can be accessed at NACTO.

As transit agencies approach a post-pandemic fiscal cliff, a new report aims to explain the historical drivers of fiscal instability and potential new models of funding.

Surmounting the Fiscal Cliff: Identifying Stable Funding Solutions for Public Transportation Systems, a research report by Yonah Freemark and Lindiwe Rennert for the Urban Institute, recommends developing a diverse and more stable set of subsidies for transit agencies, along with other suggestions to increase ridership and stabilize finances. The 78-page report, funded by the Transit Center, calls on local and state leaders to leverage federal transportation dollars that most states spend on roads to support transit agencies, converting the funds to support capital investment while shifting local and state funds to operations.

Sales taxes are the most common source of revenue for transit but the authors suggest that other sources should be considered for additional support, such as property taxes, income taxes on high-income individuals, and charges on driving.

Transit agencies must identify ways to increase service, encouraging additional ridership, boost operational efficiency instead of reducing service or headcount, and invest in improvements to speed operation and cut energy costs, such as dedicated bus lanes. The report also recommends a “rainy-day fund” to address revenue fluctuations from year to year. "More stable, diversified funding, combined with thoughtful approaches to service, can allow agencies to surmount this fiscal cliff while enabling them to expand service into the future and better preparing them to face — or allowing them to avoid — future emergencies.”

Seven large U.S. transit agencies now carry more passengers than in 2019, “suggesting that potential growth in transit ridership beyond what occurred before the pandemic,” the authors noted.

The full report can be found here.