Joint City/University Dockless Vehicle Program

The University of Missouri engaged Walker Consultants to create a dockless vehicle program for the University and the City of Columbia, one of the first joint city/university partnerships for managing scooters.

The City and University sought coordination around dockless vehicles. Scooters were present on university and city property under an agreement with a private operator, but the lack of operator regulatory compliance resulted in vehicles blocking sidewalks, rights-of-way, and building entrances. This caused an administrative and enforcement burden, as there were insufficient resources to monitor and impound scooters parked in hazardous locations.

Walker began by benchmarking other city and university dockless vehicle programs. We advised the City and University on program parameters, legal implications, costs, fee structure, planning, administration, penalties, liability, and evaluation. Walker drafted regulations for deployment, operations, and management. We also drafted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a dockless vehicle operator and outlined criteria for RFP evaluation. Finally, we drafted the permit application, data sharing agreement, privacy contract, and legal agreements.

Walker provided a comprehensive framework for implementing a dockless vehicle program. This will allow the continued viability of scooters as an important transportation option for students and residents, while ensuring they are provided and managed in an efficient and equitable manner.