Santa Clara Launches Shared Mobility Program

The City of Santa Clara has officially launched its Shared Mobility Program, working with two companies to distribute ebikes and escooters in the City.

Bird has received an operating permit to deploy 800 escooters and 200 ebikes throughout the City. Veo will deploy 300 Cosmo scooter (seated scooters) in Santa Clara. Bird and Veo are the only two companies with permits to operate in Santa Clara at this time.

The Santa Clara City Council approved the Shared Mobility Program after a citywide moratorium was instated in 2018 to give City staff time to come up with program guidelines. The Public Works Department’s Traffic Engineering Division worked on the guidelines, which can be found here.

Under the guidelines, the number of Bird and Veo escooters and ebikes in the City cannot exceed 3,000 devices.

Shared Mobility Program Rules

To use the vehicles, you must download the Bird or Veo app and agree to the respective company’s rental agreement before being allowed to ride. When ending a ride, the user mut find an appropriate parking location.

The City says you must know the basic operating rules before riding, including:

• Devices should be ridden in the street and in designated bike lanes;
• Devices shall not operate in City parks, excluding the San Tomas Aquino / Saratoga Creek Trail.

There are also rules that riders must follow, including:

• Should wear a helmet for safety;
• Must be over the age of 18 and hold a valid driver’s license:
• Must follow all traffic rules, signals, and signs;
• Must ride in the bicycle lane or vehicle lane with the flow of traffic;
• Must yield to pedestrians and walk scooters on sidewalks when parking;
• Must not ride scooters under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
• Only one rider is allowed on an electric scooter at a time.

Riders shall park devices upright and in a manner that does not block or obstruct pedestrian and bicyclist access to public facilities, including:

• Any fire hydrant, call box or other emergency facilities;
• Rail platforms, bus benches, transit shelters and passenger waiting areas;
• Utility poles or boxes;
• Time limit parking zones, loading zones, disabled parking zones;
• Within 15 feet of a curb ramp;
• Within 10 feet of an entryway, exit and driveway;
• Within street furniture that requires pedestrian access (e.g., benches, transit shelters, receptacles, etc.).

If a device is knocked over, parked incorrectly, found in a prohibited area, damaged, inoperable or on private property, the public should call or email the device operator via the 24-hour customer service contact information as follows. The operator is responsible for retrieving the devices.

Bird Contact Information

Website: http://www.bird.co/

Email: hello@bird.co

Phone: 1-866-205-2442

Veo Contact Information

Website: https://www.veoride.com/

Email: hello@veoride.com

Phone: 1-855-836-2256

eScooter & eBike Enforcement

The Police Department is handling enforcement of Vehicle Code and City Code violations. Public Safety Dispatchers should only be called in the following instances:

• A device is involved in a collision;
• A rider suffers a significant injury requiring medical attention.

For non-emergency situations call 408-615-5580. In an emergency, dial 9-1-1.

City staff added a MySantaClara App module for Bike/Scooter Share if residents or stakeholders would like to submit comments to the City.

For general inquiries about the Shared Mobility Device program, contact Ralph Garcia at RGarcia1@SantaClaraCA.gov.