Micromobility is on its way back to Birmingham in 2021!
The City of Birmingham has approved the applications for two micromobility vendors— Gotcha and Veo— to operate shared bikes and scooters in a wide service area that includes downtown and many neighborhoods that will begin in early 2021.
Individuals may download the vendors’ respective apps to find available bikes and scooters and pay for rentals. The city’s Department of Transportation will establish 94 corrals throughout the service area. Each vendor will deploy 500 devices each in the first 90 days of operations. Both the number of devices and service area may expand based on an assessment by the Department of Transportation.
Users may pay for their ride on the vendors’ apps by credit/debit card or with a prepaid debit card. Also, Gotcha plans to offer RFID cards at libraries and other locations. RFID cards can be used to unlock bikes and scooters by people who may not have a smartphone.
All users must be 19 years old to operate scooters and have a government-issued drivers’ license. An 18-year-old may ride a bike or scooter that has been rented by a parent or legal guardian.
Bikes will be available at any time. Scooters will be unavailable from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Scooters will have a maximum speed of 15 m.p.h.
Under the city ordinance and in keeping with current traffic laws, bikes and scooters will not be allowed on sidewalks. Police officers can write citations for those who ride on the sidewalk.
Bikes and scooters should be parked in corrals established by the city and identified with signage. Users who do not park in corrals will be charged a $2 convenience fee by the vendors. Both Gotcha and Veo will be responsible for removing bikes or scooters that have not been left in appropriate locations.
While users are not required to wear helmets, they are strongly encouraged.
The return of micromobility options in the city follows approval earlier this year of a new ordinance allowing the operation of motorized scooters in the city.
It also marks the first time a bike-sharing program has operated since REV’s Zyp Bikeshare program ended in December 2019.
Zyp logged 43,690 users, 218,795 rides and 253,203 miles during its five-year commitment to sponsors. It also proved that micromobility could be embraced by the city or Birmingham. Watch the video below for more:
Birmingham’s Zyp changed bike-share programs across North America from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Related News
-
Why we say yay to two-way streets
Filed Under: Developer, Downtown Birmingham, Filling Vacant Spaces, Front Page, Transportation, Yaysayers
REV Birmingham is a long-time advocate for making the switch to two-way streets downtown, and this is something recommended by planners studying our downtown for years. In fact, the team that developed the 2004 City Center Master Plan recommended many street changes but noted 4th Avenue North conversion should take place “immediately.” We believe this project is a catalytic moment for Birmingham – but you may find yourself wondering why that is.
-
The Key Tool for Urban Revitalization: Downtown BHM's Business Improvement District
Filed Under: Business-Proving, Developer, Downtown Birmingham, Front Page, Get Involved, Potential-Proving, Why BHM
By the time REV took on BID management in 2018, downtown had a new set of needs from its BID. Downtown Birmingham in the ‘90s had a population mainly of 9 to 5 employees. But the downtown of 2018 had a whole new population of residents and visitors throughout the day and night. We had new opportunities to create positive experiences, inviting them into more downtown businesses and public spaces, and to keep them coming back for more.
-
Introducing the six businesses that call Nextec home
Filed Under: Business-Proving, Developer, Downtown Birmingham, Filling Vacant Spaces, Front Page, Historic Preservation, Potential-Proving, Why BHM
On the corner of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street North, you’ll find Nextec, a redevelopment of the 90-year-old, 65,000-square-foot Edwards Motor Company building (also formerly known as the Sticks ‘N’ Stuff building). With experience in historic renovation, developer Michael Mouron, chairman of Capstone Real Estate Investments, began this civic project in 2021 as a space for business startups to continue their work in the Magic City – a function encouraged by REV Birmingham.