TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (BRAIN) — The North American Bikeshare Association said its helped defeat a Florida bill that would have replaced local control of bike share programs with a statewide policy.
The Florida House of Representatives and Senate introduced bills in December that imposed a statewide bikeshare policy. NABSA said the bills did not account for safety, data privacy, right of way management, or the needs of communities, among other issues. The group believes the success of bikeshare, the safety of riders and the quality of the service all depend on local management and decision-making authority.
"As the bikeshare industry's leading membership organization, we worked hard to ensure this bill did not pass in Florida because we did not want it to cause a ripple effect in other states," said NABSA's executive director, Samantha Herr. "Through our advocacy efforts on the ground in Florida and our support from members across the U.S., we successfully defeated this harmful bill, allowing existing and future bikeshare systems to thrive across the state."
Herr hopes the defeat of the bill in Florida will show the importance for local decision making in other areas of the U.S. Similar legislation is pending in the Oklahoma Senate. NABSA has sent a letter to the Senate urging it to defeat the bill.
"Bikeshare has been successful in hundreds of cities and towns across the country because of strong local involvement," said Herr. "We encourage policymakers in other states to protect the safety and welfare of their citizens by keeping bikeshare implementation and decision-making at the local level."
