Denver’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure will present two licensing agreements to one of Denver City Council’s subcommittees next week that could change the way electric scooters and bikes operate in town. 

DOTI officials will begin the formal approval process Tuesday by presenting a five-year agreement proposal to the council’s Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee that would give exclusive operating rights of electric scooters and bikes to Lyft and Lime. 

If approved by the committee, the proposal would head to the council for consideration.

DOTI officials say both potential partners will help achieve the goals of Denver’s Mobility Action Plan.

Within the proposal, both Lyft and Lime would change the way rent-a-scooters and bikes work around town. Both companies would each be allowed a maximum of 1,500 scooters on the ground at any given time, while at least 20% of the total scooters deployed would have to be shared bikes, according to a DOTI release.

Additionally, 30% of both companies’ fleets would be required to operate in areas known to have low vehicle ownership and high transit riderships. Such areas include sections of City Park West, Five Points, East Colfax and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. 

Scooter map

Both companies would also be required to offer subsidized passes to locals to attract new ridership and increase mobility options around the Mile High City.

In addition to the fleet deployment requirements, the proposal states that both companies will need to equip each vehicle with geofencing technology that will automatically slow it down in high-traffic areas, according to a DOTI release. 

When a rider enters such areas like the 16th Street Mall, the scooter or bike will automatically decrease its speed to 3 mph to increase safety to pedestrians. 

Dockless scooters and shared use bikes have been within city limits since 2018 after the launch of the Dockless Mobility Pilot Program. Since its launch, more than 6.1 million people have used the scooters, and more than 325,000 people have used the shared bikes, according to DOTI.

In 2019, DOTI decided to extend the program and start a formal bidding process to award a license through a competitive process.