Lime, Spin enter data-sharing agreement with Los Angeles

Dive Brief:

Mobility companies Lime and Spin have partnered with transportation data platform Remix to provide standardized data to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT).
The shared data will help the city manage dockless bike and scooter program needs by better understanding factors such as demand and user trip patterns.
Los Angeles is the first city to be a part of the data-sharing agreement.

Dive Insight:

Earlier this year, L.A. published its Mobility Data Specification (MDS) to provide API and data standards to help municipalities gather, analyze and compare real-time data from mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) companies. The roadmap also is intended to help municipalities manage service providers and enforce governance. The MDS goals were a key part in the final regulations for the city's one-year dockless vehicle pilot program that was approved this summer.

A lot of MaaS companies, including ride-hailing businesses, have fielded criticism for not willingly handing over the data that cities request. But some cities request data that companies consider too intrusive and outside the realm of what a government has the right to know, such as certain business practices or employee pay. The new agreement with LADOT appears to be a mutually amenable plan that will keep the mobility companies in the city's good graces while providing the city with program information.

Mobility data does more than just allow a city to perform oversight on the operators; it provides information that a city otherwise might not have been able to gather, which can be used to improve mobility programs and related infrastructure. L.A. will be able to see how popular the dockless devices are and in which parts of the city they get the most use, which can inform whether it makes the pilot program permanent. The data can also help the city determine where more bike racks or bike lane improvements might be needed.

Remix's platform is used in more than 300 global cities, so similar data-sharing partnerships likely will materialize in more places over the coming months.