[Added 5-2-2019 by Ord.
No. 19.011]
A. Permits and fees.
(1)
No private SMD program shall allow their vehicles to park on any City right-of-way or public space without a permit. The permit requirement shall not apply to city-owned or contracted public docks placed within the public way. Parking shall be in compliance with §
312-49.
(2)
The Office of Planning and Sustainability shall issue a permit to operate a docked or dockless SMD program within the City if the applicant submits the application materials set forth in Subsection
B, below.
(3)
The permit fee to operate a SMD program is based on the size
of the fleet. Applicants shall pay $15 per SMD annually for an SMD
operator's permit.
B. Application.
(1)
Applications and renewals for SMD permits shall be submitted
to Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability and shall include
these items:
(d)
Images and description of SMDs and mobile application;
(e)
Size of fleet at launch, including any planned fleet expansions
during the permit period;
(f)
Service area at launch, including any planned expansions during
the permit period;
(g)
Plan for educating users on proper SMD parking;
(h)
Location of all planned stations. No stations shall be created
without approval from Office of Planning and Sustainability; and
(i)
Permissions for overnight parking on private property.
C. Service area.
(1)
Permits for private programs, not operated for or by the city,
may only be issued for systems that operate in and serve at least
the URA, B, C districts and Florence Center.
(2)
Programs are encouraged to serve areas outside the area already
served by any City-owned or City-contracted SMD program.
D. SMD fleet parking and stations.
(1)
SMD parking on the public way shall be in accordance with §
312-49.
(2)
Share operators shall inform customers on how to park their
SMD properly.
(3)
Between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11:59 p.m., SMDs shall be parked
either on private property outside pedestrian zones or in the landscape/furniture
zone of the sidewalk.
(4)
Between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. no SMDs shall be parked in the public way or on public bike racks. SMD program operators shall incorporate mechanisms to ensure that overnight parking is on private property or on previously approved SMD stations/racks. Any overnight parking within the right-of-way will subject the SMDs to impoundment in accordance with §
312-49.
(5)
SMDs shall be upright when parked.
(6)
Any SMD that is parked incorrectly shall be reparked in a correct
manner or shall be removed by the operator based on these times:
(a)
6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, not including holidays:
within two hours of receiving notice.
(b)
All other times: by 8:00 a.m. f the next weekday.
(7)
SMDs may be parked only on hard surfaces (e.g., concrete, asphalt)
within the landscape/furniture zone and may not be parked in landscaped
areas.
E. Pedal-assist/electric specifications. All fleets of pedal-assist or E-SMDs shall have governors that allow them to operate on the City's multiuse paths in accordance with §
312-78.
F. Signage and advertising.
(1)
The company logo, a unique SMD ID number, and a customer service
number shall appear on each SMD.
(2)
Additional regulations for logos outside of the SMD program
logo, such as a system sponsorships or advertisements, are subject
to City of Northampton sign ordinances.
G. Safety and maintenance.
(1)
All SMDs shall meet the minimum standards set forth in United
States requirements for bicycles in 16 CFR Part 1512, and safety requirements
for bicycles in ISO 4210-2:2015.
(2)
All SMDs shall be equipped with working front and rear lights.
(3)
All SMDs shall be equipped with GPS or other geolocation technology
needed for monitoring, enforcement, and for use in crime detection
if SMDs are involved.
(4)
All permitted SMDs within an SMD program shall have visible
language that notifies the user that:
(a)
Helmets are recommended to be worn while riding a bicycle;
(b)
Where sidewalk riding is allowed, SMD users shall yield to pedestrians
on sidewalks.
(5)
The operator shall establish and operate a twenty-four-hour
customer service number, which is available and staffed at all times
the system is operable. This number shall allow the company to be
notified that there is a safety or maintenance issue with the SMD.
(6)
All permitted operators shall have a staffed operations center
within half hour drive of Northampton and shall provide a contact
person from their company with phone number and email (outside of
the public customer service number) for City of Northampton officials
to contact directly.
(7)
Any inoperable SMD, or any SMD that is not safe to operate shall
be removed from the right-of-way within 24 hours of notice by any
means to the operator by any individual or entity, and shall be repaired
before returning it to service.
(8)
If any department incurs any costs addressing or abating any
violations of these requirements that results in the repair or maintenance
of public property to abate any violations, upon receiving written
notice of the City costs, the permitted operator shall reimburse for
such costs within 30 days of receiving itemized notification of such
costs.
(9)
The City may immediately lock or impound SMDs that are found
left in violation of these requirements. There will be a fee set annually
by the City of up to $100 per SMD to release any locked vehicle that
has been locked in violation of these regulations·.
(10)
Prior to the permit being issued, all permittees shall sign
and record an indemnification agreement indemnifying and holding harmless
the City, its employees, officials, agents and assignees to the greatest
extent allowed by law.
(11)
Permitted operators agree that the City of Northampton is not
responsible for educating users regarding helmet requirements or for
educating users on how to ride or operate an SMD. Permitted operators
agree to educate users regarding laws applicable to riding and operating
such SMD.
H. Equitable SMD program.
(1)
Operators that provide general service to the community are
required to submit an equity plan for SMD access for low income and
under-served populations. Applications shall show:
(a)
Service areas where 10% of stations are within 500 feet of public
housing or DHCD/federally defined CDBG majority moderate and low income
areas or environmental justice areas;
(b)
Demonstrated community engagement events/actions;
(c)
Payment options, including solutions for unbanked citizens;
(d)
Customer service plan including staffing, hours, response protocols;
(e)
Subsidized rates for low income populations, and defined by
the current HUD area median incomes;
(f)
Engaging local partnerships to assist in subsidized rates;
(g)
Hiring policies and workforce opportunities as a component of
the equity plan.
I. Insurance and indemnity required.
(1)
General liability insurance $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence;
and $2,000,000 total.
(2)
Workers compensation that meets Massachusetts requirements;
(3)
Automobile liability insurance $1,000,000 minimum per occurrence;
(4)
A surety or performance bond to protect the City if the private
SMD operator goes out of business or is failing to meet certain terms
under a contractual agreement. The bond amount will be linked to the
system fleet size. The goal of a surety bond is to protect the City
in the possible event that they incur the costs of fleet removal due
to noncompliance in accordance with the contract. Applicants shall
submit vehicle unit costs and decommissioning estimates with a proposed
bond amount.
J. Reporting.
(1)
In order to renew annual permits, operators are required to
submit a report of the previous year's statistics indicating on a
monthly basis:
(a)
Number of SMDs in service;
(b)
Number of SMDs out of service (damaged);
(c)
Aggregated system usage including: total unique users, total
miles ridden, total number of rentals, average rental duration etc.;
(d)
Monthly summary of SMD distribution and GPS-based natural movement
in heat map format;
(e)
Summary of customer comments/complaints and resolution;
(f)
Summary of theft/vandalism and resolution;
(g)
Summary of SMD maintenance activities; and
(h)
Summary of SMD redistribution (rebalancing) activities.