TDM Strategy | Electrification

Shared Mobility Strategies

This section provides a high-level overview of shared mobility strategies. Each strategy includes an overview, key information, project examples, resources, and ways to measure success. For a more in-depth look at each strategy, please see the  TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Shared Mobility Strategies

 Shared Micromobility

  Community

  • Urban
  • Suburban
  • Rural Resort
  • New Development

  Organization

  • Government
  • MPO/TPR
  • Employer
  • RTA/Transit Provider

  Cost

  • Medium
  • High

 Vehicle Miles Traveled

  • Medium Impact
  • High Impact

Shared Micromobility Overview

Shared micromobility provides a convenient option to short trips, expands access to transit, and makes it easier to reach destinations without a personal vehicle. Programs provide short-term access to e-bikes, e-scooters, and other small mobility devices through docked stations, designated parking areas, dockless devices, or a combination for these approaches. 

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

  • Program Operators: Agencies can establish programs through permits with private providers, procure an operator, partner with transit agencies or neighboring jurisdictions, or develop a publicly sponsored system.

  • Requirements: Agencies can establish requirements for service areas, fleet size and mix, parking, operating speeds, safety and maintenance, data reporting, customer service, equity, and operator responsibilities.

  • Device Availability: Operators may need to redistribute devices throughout the day to maintain reliable access, particularly near transit stations and other high-demand destinations. Programs can encourage efficient rebalancing practices and the use of low- or zero-emission fleet vehicles where practical.

  • Effectiveness: Shared micromobility is most effective when integrated with the broader transportation network. Safe and connected bicycle facilities, convenient parking, affordable access, and reliable device activity make shared devices more practical.

Project Examples

  • Veo Shared Bike and Scooter Program- Urban

    • Denver uses license agreements with private operators to provide a citywide shared bike and scooter system. After a competitive procurement process, Denver selected Veo as its shared micromobility operator. Veo supports equitable access through a reduced-fare program for income qualified Denver residents, and provides user rules, data reporting, and coordination with the city’s bicycle and transit networks.

  • Arvada Shared Micromobility Program- Suburban

    • Arvada launched a pilot with Lime to provide dockless e-scooters and e-bikes, and expanded the service area to improve access to commercial destinations. They have continued to evaluate program performance and recommend improvements. The project illustrates how shared micromobility can serve dispersed destinations outside a central-city setting.

  • Shift Bike Regional E-Bikeshare- Rural/Resort

    • Shift Bike is a regional e-bike share system operated through a partnership among the Town of Vail, Town of Avon, EagleVail Metro District, Edwards Metro District, Eagle County, and CDOT. The system includes approximately 165 e-bikes and 35 hub stations, and demonstrates how multiple jurisdictions can share the cost and administration of a micromobility system across several resort and rural communities.

Have a project you would like to highlight? Contact us

Key Resources

Measuring Success

  • Shared micromobility program implementation and use: Common measures to evaluate whether programs provide a convenient transit option include total trips, trips per device per day, geographic and seasonal usage patterns, parking compliance, and use of reduced-fare programs. Tracking trips beginning or ending near transit stops or mobility hubs can help understand how shared micromobility supports first/last mile connections
  • Potential evaluation approach: Communities can evaluate effectiveness using trip data, rider surveys, share of trips replacing SOV, and estimated VMT and GHG emissions reductions. Agencies should account for vehicle mileage associated with device deployment, maintenance, and rebalancing. Agencies can also monitor crashes, improper parking, complaints, and other community impacts.
 Carpool

  Community

  • Urban
  • Suburban
  • Rural Resort
  • Rural
  • New Development

  Organization

  • Government
  • MPO/TPR
  • Employer
  • RTA/Transit Provider
  • TMO

  Cost

  • Medium
  • High

 Vehicle Miles Traveled

  • Low Impact

Carpool Overview

Carshare programs provide residents, employees, and visitors with short-term access to a vehicle without requiring full-time vehicle ownership. Carshare vehicles are typically accessed through a membership or pay-as-you-go model, and may be operated by private carshare companies, nonprofits, or other organizations, with local agencies establishing partnership and providing funding. Vehicles may be located at multifamily housing developments, workplaces, mobility hubs, or other convenient locations.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

  • Local Agency Support: Local agencies can support carshare by partnering with carshare operators to establish service, providing designated on-street parking spaces for shared vehicles, subsidizing vehicles for targeted populations, or incorporating carshare into mobility hubs.

  • Transit Demand Captured: Carshare can fill occasional vehicle needs that transit, walking, and micromobility cannot easily service. Carshare makes it more practical for households to own fewer vehicles, reducing parking demand.

  • Effectiveness: Carshare is most effective where vehicles are conveniently located, pricing is affordable, and residents have access to complementary transportation options.

Project Examples

  • Colorado CarShare- Urban

    •  Colorado CarShare is a nonprofit that serves Denver, Boulder, and nearby Front Range communities. Members can reserve vehicles by the hour or day, giving residents access to a vehicle when needed without requiring each household to own a car.

  • Aspen Zipcar Program- Rural/Resort

    • Zipcar serves as Aspen’s car-sharing provider. The program offers residents and visitors on-demand access to shared vehicles, supporting car-light lifestyles, reducing parking demand, and complementing Aspen’s transit programs.

  • Town of Superior/Colorado CarShare Partnership- Suburban

    • This project provided a shared EV in the Downtown Superior Parking Garage. Members sign up through Colorado CarShare, reserve the vehicle by the hour or day, and return it to the same downtown location after each trip.

Have a project you would like to highlight? Contact us

Key Resources

Measuring Success

  • Carshare implementation and use: Common measures to evaluate whether carshare provides a useful transportation include the number of shared vehicles, active memberships, trips per vehicle, and participation in discounted memberships. Agencies can track carshare availability at priority locations such as transit stations.

  • Potential evaluation approach: Agencies can coordinate with carshare providers to analyze program data to understand how carshare affects vehicle ownership and travel behavior. Common measures include changes in household vehicle ownership, changes in driving frequency and VMT, and changes in non-driving travel. Agencies can use these findings to estimate reductions in VMT and GHG emissions.

 Schoolpool

  Community

  • Urban
  • Suburban
  • Rural Resort
  • Rural
  • New Development

  Organization

  • Government
  • MPO/TPR

  Cost

  • Medium
  • High

 Vehicle Miles Traveled

  • Medium Impact

Schoolpool Overview

Agencies can partner with school districts, individual schools, and regional transportation organizations to establish Schoolpool programs that coordinate shared trips to and from school. While Schoolpool may take the form of a traditional carpool, the concept can also include walking school buses, bike buses, transit trips, and coordinated school bus connections. The appropriate approach depends on student travel distances, surrounding infrastructure, family needs, and transportation options available near the school.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

  • Context: Agencies and schools should use information about where students live and how they travel to determine which Schoolpool options are most appropriate. Public school districts may coordinate walking and bicycling groups across multiple schools. Charter and private schools may draw students from a wider geographic area, creating opportunities for carpools and shared meeting points.

  • Barriers: Agencies and schools should identify barriers such as unsafe crossings, gaps in bicycle facilities, or congested pickup and drop-off barriers that make shared trips more difficult.

  • Effectiveness: Programs are most effective when paired with Safe Routes to School initiatives, safe walking and bicycling infrastructure, multilingual outreach, and visible support from school or district leadership.

Project Examples

  • DRCOG Way to Go Schoolpool- Urban

    • Way to Go Schoolpool helps Denver families connect with others who live near one another to coordinate carpools, walking groups, bike groups or transit trips. This reduces the burden of school transportation on individual households, and makes non-driving school travel more practical.

  • Riff Bike Bus- Urban

    • This project in Fort Collins is a community-led group bicycle ride that provides students with a safe and social way to travel to school. The bike bus follows a designated route, with children and accompanying adults traveling together along neighborhood streets. This demonstrates how a low-cost, community-led program can make bicycling to school more practical and comfortable.

  • RideNoCo Schoolpool- Regional

    • This free program connects families with nearby households to share school trips, supporting families across a regional service area where school travel needs vary by community, distance, and available transportation options.

Have a project you would like to highlight? Contact us

Key Resources

Measuring Success

  • Student trip mode share and pooled-trip rate: Schools can use classroom tallies and platform data to track student travel modes, matched families, and active carpools, walking groups, bike groups, and transit groups.
  • School trip VMT and school zone queue reductions: This helps schools and agencies measure if schoolpool programs are reducing vehicle travel and congestion, using arrival/dismissal counts, queue observations, and travel tallies.
 Commuter Vanpool

  Community

  • Urban
  • Suburban
  • Rural Resort
  • Rural
  • New Development

  Organization

  • Government
  • MPO/TPR
  • Employer

  Cost

  • Low

 Vehicle Miles Traveled

  • Medium Impact

Commuter Vanpool Overview

Local agencies can support commuter vanpool programs to help employees with similar commute origins and work schedules share regular trips to and from work. Vehicles may include vans, minivans, or SUVs depending on the number of participants. Agencies can partner with employers, transit agencies, TMOs, regional transportation, or third party vanpool providers. Vanpools are most appropriate for longer distance commutes where multiple employees travel to the same worksite and fixed-route transit is unavailable or inconvenient.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

  • Ideal Locations: Vanpools are particularly useful for campuses, hospitals, resorts, industrial areas, distribution centers, suburban employment centers, and shift-based worksites
  • Guaranteed Ride Home: Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) programs provide free or low-cost transportation in the event of an emergency. Pairing vanpool with GRH programs can help address concerns about being stranded at work when an unexpected situation prevents an employee from taking their regular vanpool home.

Project Examples

  • San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) Vanpool Program- Regional

    • SMART operates vanpools connecting workers from Montrose and Ridgeway to Nucla and Norwood to Telluride and Mountain Village. Qualified volunteer drivers operate the vanpools, and participants pay a monthly fee to share the commute. The program provides an affordable alternative to driving alone for workers making relatively long commutes, reduces parking demand, and transportation related emissions.

  • Way to Go Vanpool- Urban

    • Way to Go, a DRCOG program, provides the vehicle, fuel, and maintenance for vanpool members in the Denver metro area. Members have similar origins and commutes, share monthly fares, and select drivers.

Have a project you would like to highlight? Contact us

Key Resources

Measuring Success

  • Participation and vanpool use: Local agencies can track the number of active vanpools, participating commuters, average vehicle occupancy, trip frequency, and retention over time. These measures show whether the program is maintaining sufficient ridership.

  • VMT, mode shift, and transportation impacts: Pre-enrollment and follow-up commute surveys can identify participants’ previous travel modes; commute distance and vanpool mileage data can be used to estimate SOV trips and VMT avoided.