Wheels for All: Ensuring Equitable Access to Dockless Mobility in Los Angeles (brief)

Abstract

As the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) embarks on a one-year dockless mobility pilot program, both LADOT staff and the residents they serve have raised concerns over equity and access. Dockless mobility refers to dockless or free-floating bicycles, electric bicycles, and electric scooters available for short-term rental that have begun to proliferate in cities across the country. LADOT staff are currently using CalEnviroScreen 3.0 to identify disadvantaged communities where regulations incentivize operators to deploy their vehicles. However, CalEnviroScreen 3.0 is a metric developed by the state to identify communities likely affected by environmental injustices and as such prioritizes environmental exposure factors over those that may affect transportation access. The purpose of this project was to first develop an access-focused Dockless Mobility Equity Map that locates the most socioeconomically and access-disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles. Using this map, LADOT staff could produce regulations that promote targeted dockless service. Second, this report identifies actions that LADOT staff can take during the one-year pilot and beyond to ensure equitable access in the Dockless Mobility Equity Map areas, including education, ridership data collection, and infrastructure improvements.

About the Project

As the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) embarks on a one-year dockless mobility pilot program, both LADOT staff and the residents they serve have raised concerns over equity and access. Dockless mobility refers to dockless or free-floating bicycles, electric bicycles, and electric scooters available for short-term rental that have begun to proliferate in cities across the country. LADOT staff have permitted eight companies with an accumulated 36,000 vehicles. Because the distribution of scooters across Los Angeles neighborhoods is far from even, LADOT staff are currently using CalEnviroScreen 3.0 to identify disadvantaged communities where regulations incentivize operators to deploy their scooters. However, CalEnviroScreen 3.0 is a metric developed to identify communities likely affected by environmental injustices and as such prioritizes environmental exposure factors over those that may affect transportation access.