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Affordable bike-sharing programs could go away, League of Cities says

The League of Cities and other public agencies are concerned that Assembly Bill 1112 would take away cities rights to regulating bike-sharing programs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif — Assembly Bill 1112 aims to create uniform regulations for a bike- and scooter- sharing program, but with one line it could also take away a city's right to create their own regulations about these programs, according to the League of Cities.

AB 1112 was written by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and introduces regulations that would allow for cities to collect data from companies on the usage of their system and require all transportation devices to have visible identification.

Friedman said that the bill would help to improve safety in the communities where bike- and scooter- sharing program exists.

The bill also includes these lines:

"In regulating shared mobility devices and providers, a local authority shall not impose any unduly restrictive requirement on a provider, including requiring operation below cost, and shall not subject the riders of shared mobility devices to requirements more restrictive than those applicable to riders of personally owned similar transportation devices, including, but not limited to, personally owned electric bicycles and electric scooters."

The League of Cities, an association of California city officials, has expressed its opposition of the bill stating that the bill would prevent cities from requiring companies to have programs for low-income or elderly people.

"While a handful of corporations have been willing to work with cities and counties in deploying this technology in a responsible manner, a number of corporations have been running afoul of local regulation and law enforcement as companies skirt local laws to compete for market share," The League of Cities said in their opposition statement. "Unfortunately, AB 1112's elimination of local authority in this space would put the public's safety, health, and welfare at risk."

Here in Sacramento, the city council adopted their own regulations to ensure that the public's safety, health, and welfare was not at risk.

While the city didn't explicitly state that bike programs must have a program and coverage area that benefits lower-income or elderly communities in Sacramento, Jump Bikes, an Uber company, has expanded their coverage area and created a program that helps low-income people.

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