The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works is conducting a Dockless Bicycle Share Pilot Study to observe, solicit feedback on, and evaluate the effectiveness of dockless bicycle share in Milwaukee.
Dockless bicycle share means a system of self-service bicycles made available for shared use to individuals on a short term basis, which may be rented via a smart-phone app, vendor website, or a pre-paid PIN. Dockless bicycle share does not require structures at permanent, fixed locations where rides must begin and end.
Dockless bicycle share may provide many benefits to residents and visitors of Milwaukee. It has the potential to help the City improve outcomes related to equity, health, congestion mitigation, and access to opportunity. The City also realizes the potential for disruption to pedestrian ways and other public rights of way.
The pilot study has the following goals:
- Increase Bicycle Ridership: More people riding bicycles in the City of Milwaukee will making bicycling safer, reduce congestion, and improve quality of life for residents and visitors. The Department of Public Works will monitor ridership of bicycle share systems to evaluate the positive impact of bicycle sharing in the City.
- Expand Bicycle Share Availability throughout Milwaukee: The City is interested in evaluating dockless bike share throughout Milwaukee, including areas currently outside of the existing docked bike share network. Participants must commit to providing a predetermined percentage of bikes throughout the City and must commit to regular rebalancing of bikes to ensure dockless bikes are not concentrated in any one area of the City.
- Ensure Public Safety and Evaluate Public Perception: Participants must show a commitment to keeping pedestrian ways, streets, and other public right of way unobstructed by dockless bicycles for other street users. Most importantly, dockless bicycles must be parked and maintained in a manner that provides a clear path for pedestrians and maintains access to businesses, residential units, and other buildings.
Pilot Study Application Materials
Service Zones
The City is divided into five geographic service zones with bicycle distribution requirements for each zone.
Zone Boundaries
See a map of the service zones here.
Zone 1: The area bounded on the west and south by the Milwaukee River through the confluence with the Kinnickinnic River, on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the north by East Edgewood Avenue (extended).
Zone 2: The area bounded on the east by the Milwaukee River through the confluence with the Kinnickinnic River, Lake Michigan and the city limits, on the south by South Whitnall Avenue, South Logan Avenue, and East Bolivar Avenue, on the west by I-94/43, and on the north by the city limits.
Zone 3: The area bounded on the south by I-43/894, on the north and east by I-43/94, and on the west by South 43rd Street, Miller Park Way, and the city limits.
Zone 4: The area bounded on the north by West Silver Spring Drive and the city limits, on the east by I-43, on the south by I-94, and on the west by STH 175, West Lisbon Avenue, North 51st Street, and North 51st Boulevard.
Zone 5: All areas of the city not included in Zones 1 through 4.
Distribution Requirements
Operators are required to redistribute their bicycles daily according to the following guidelines.
Zone 1: No more than 10% of the operator’s deployed fleet
Zone 2: No more than 15% of the operator’s deployed fleet
Zone 3: No less than 25% of the operator’s deployed fleet
Zone 4: No less than 30% of the operator’s deployed fleet
Zone 5: No less than 10% of the operator’s deployed fleet