Digital Communities December 2015

QUARTERLY REPORT / DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

DECEMBER 2015

/ LEARNING TO SHARE

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BY TOD NEWCOMBE SENIOR EDITOR A GROWING NUMBER OF CITIES ARE DIRECTLY BENEFITING FROM THE SHARING ECONOMY.

hen Hurricane Sandy hit The sharing economy isn’t just the northeast coast in 2012, rooms. It’s also about sharing rides, W thousands were displaced goods and services. Public offi cials are from their homes by the fl ooding trying to determine how an unregu- and power outages. In response, a lated business model can operate in woman in New York City who was an regulated markets, like taxis and hotels. Airbnb host listed her loft at no cost But as some cities have discovered ABOUT to anyone who had become tempo- with Airbnb, it’s possible to use the rarily homeless because of the storm. sharing economy for public good. The THIS Eventually more than 1,400 hosts did idea is still relatively new, but a few REPORT the same as the devastation spread. interesting examples have emerged. The Digital Communities The act of generosity caught the It’s too soon to say just how much Special Report, which attention of Airbnb, which launched the sharing economy could benefi t appears quarterly in a disaster relief initiative in 2013, local government, but there are Government Technology making it easier for hosts to provide some who believe it could generate magazine, offers in- space to people who need it when signifi cant gains in effi ciency. Right depth coverage for local an emergency strikes. The initia- now, about 90 percent of govern- government leaders and tive also caught the attention of ment operations involve the acquisi- technology professionals. government emergency management tion of resources, whether they are It is part of the Digital offi cials in several cities, leading to trucks, buses or computers, said Communities program, agreements that help cities iden- Kevin DeSouza, an associate dean a network of public- and private-sector IT tify hosts willing to share their for research at the College of Public professionals working lodgings during an emergency. Service and Community Solu- to improve local While some cities have character- tions at Arizona State University. governments’ delivery of ized Airbnb as an unregulated hotel Not only are those resources costly public service through the operation and have fought it on those to acquire, but they also are expensive use of digital technology. grounds, others have recognized the to maintain. “The more cities spend The program — a room-sharing concept as having value on acquiring assets, the less they have partnership between when it comes to disaster relief. One to innovate,” he said. When a local Government Technology of the more powerful features that a government rents a service or some and e.Republic’s Center peer-to-peer service such as Airbnb goods, it can improve how government for Digital Government has is rapid communication. The designs and manages public resources. — consists of task forces that meet online and company can identify which hosts This report will examine some ways in person to exchange are willing to off er space during an that local governments are using the information on important emergency and facilitate notifi cation sharing economy and what it will take issues facing local of an emergency when it occurs, so for cities to benefi t from the full value of government leaders the hosts are prepared in advance. sharing resources in the public sector. and technologists.

2 December 2015 // www.govtech.com

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HOUSING More than 160,000 shelter stays were provided during and after Hurricane Sandy by a range of organizations, according to the American Red Cross. A lot of people also took care of them- selves, with many staying in rooms at local hotels and motels. But as Sandy proved, cities can be caught off -guard by the severity of a disaster, over- whelming relief eff orts including places to stay during and after the emergency. That’s why Portland, Ore.’s Bureau of Emergency Management struck an agreement with Airbnb in 2014 to Portland, Ore., help streamline disaster response in an has an agreement with Airbnb to help emergency (the city has passed legisla- meet lodging needs tion allowing short-term rentals). in the event of an During an emergency, the Red emergency. Cross provides food and shelter to

displaced people and families, said SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Dan Douthit, the bureau’s public information offi cer. “People will also door, a social networking site for gency response,” Kelsey Grady, head fi nd shelter on their own, usually neighbors who want to communi- of communications at Nextdoor, told at local hotels and motels.” But the cate and interact around topics like Government Technology last year. Formal lodging industry may not be enough to crime, safety services and disaster agreements between a city and a sharing meet demand. “This agreement adds preparedness. Nextdoor is currently economy provider, such as Nextdoor, potential capacity,” said Douthit. available for free in nearly 53,000 can get more accomplished, she added. The agreement calls for Airbnb to communities, but use is restricted identify hosts who are willing to help to specifi c geographic locations. GOODS and to share that information with the Seeing a demand for communica- Government has a lot of stuff . In city. The company will also help hosts tion between local governments and state government, individual agen- prepare for emergencies through training Nextdoor communities, the company cies often have stuff , such as utility or and will act as an information hub, using has launched a new version that allows construction equipment that sits around its mobile software to notify hosts and cities to exchange information with unused in one part of the state while guests about possible emergencies. In online communities within the network. it’s badly needed in another. To solve return, Airbnb will waive its service fee While Nextdoor isn’t a room-sharing this imbalance, departments in charge to hosts who off er their lodgings for free. network, it’s similar to Airbnb in that it of equipment have resorted to using So far, there’s been no emergency has the infrastructure and communi- white boards to tally what’s available in the Portland area that has triggered cation capabilities to deliver citywide and then exchange emails and phone the need for shelter from Airbnb hosts. alerts, crowdsourced reports and crisis calls with other depots and departments Douthit believes an earthquake would maps that connect residents to resources to see who needs what and when. be a likely scenario, but a fl ood or major during an emergency or disaster. Besides being cumbersome, it’s not fi re could also put the agreement into For example, Nextdoor works with very effi cient, according to Alan Mond, play. Besides Portland, San Francisco’s the Houston Offi ce of Emergency the founder and CEO of MuniRent, an Department of Emergency Management Management to alert residents when online goods sharing service. Govern- has a similar partnership with Airbnb. safety issues occur in their neighbor- ment equipment sits idle as much as Several cities have also expressed hoods. “The platform at its core is 70 percent of the time, according to an interest in working with Next- well positioned to help with emer- Mond. Despite this problem, states

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/ SHOULD and localities continue to buy and rent expensive equipment. His solu- GOVERNMENT tion, similar to other goods-sharing REGULATE THE On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters rejected services, is to provide a special online a measure designed to restrict short-term forum for large state agencies to share SHARING room rentals by capping the number of nights surplus goods and equipment, instead a room could be rented. Advocates for the of renting or buying it from the private ECONOMY? regulation said that the city, already one of sector. “A sharing service like ours can the most expensive to live in, was losing reduce an agency’s equipment rental affordable housing to tourists and others who rely on Airbnb’s online sharing system costs by 10 percent annually,” he said. for lodging. Government agencies pay Muni- Called Proposition F, the measure is just one of many that city voters and offi cials Rent a monthly fee to list, reserve and have either proposed or enacted to manage and regulate the fast-growing sharing loan their surplus equipment, which economy. Nearly two dozen states are grappling with the legalities of room sharing, can be anything from dump trucks according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. California’s Legislature and excavators to front loaders and has introduced a bill that would require rental websites like Airbnb to collect a rental guardrail cleaners. One of the biggest or lodging tax. users is Oregon’s Department of The most resounding — and negative — reactions to the sharing economy have Transportation, which has been able come from cities where the legacy lodging and taxi industries are large, well- to boost the use of some of its idle entrenched and politically active. Coverage by the media has painted a picture of equipment by hundreds of hours since cities that, for the most part, are quick to pull the trigger when it comes to regulation. it started using MuniRent. Another But when you step outside the 10 or 15 largest local jurisdictions, the picture is 24 state agencies and local govern- not so black and white. The National League of Cities released a report in June with ments are subscribers or have plans to results from a survey of its members that found 71 percent of cities support the join the equipment-sharing service. growth of the sharing economy. “There are a lot of agencies out there The concerns cities have are tied to public safety, not to protecting existing that realize they have a problem with businesses, with 61 percent worried about issues tied to lack of insurance and surplus equipment,” said Mond. His general safety concerns, while only 10 percent cited the need to protect traditional service leverages the sharing-economy service providers, and 9 percent suggested noncompliance with current standards concept for a specifi c government as a problem. Most importantly, a majority of respondents — 54 percent — don’t need. “What we do is create a network want any regulation on the overall sharing economy, while 59 percent said there so that one department within a state should be no regulation of ride sharing, and 58 percent said home sharing should agency can borrow a piece of equip- not be regulated. ment from another department,” The survey found that city leaders are open to integrating sharing economy he said. “We can call it an internal services more fully within their communities, and they want to capitalize on the sharing and scheduling platform.” opportunity. Asked to identify the greatest benefi t of the sharing economy, 22 Besides large state agencies, the percent of city leaders identifi ed improved services; 20 percent favored increased sharing platform is well suited for economic activity; and 16 percent cited increased entrepreneurial activity. large cities, over 200,000 in population “Our survey shows that city leaders are becoming better prepared to successfully — any city that has multiple equip- navigate the ever-changing developments that continue to change the course of our ment yards, which makes it hard to shared urban environments,” said Brooks Rainwater, director of city solutions and keep track of trucks and machines. applied research at the National League of Cities. According to Mond, fl eet manage- The dividing line between heavy and light regulation of the sharing economy may ment systems, which can be found in just depend on the level of technology innovation in a city, according to Kevin DeSouza, about any public works or transporta- an associate dean for research at the College of Public Service and Community tion department, are good at keeping Solutions at Arizona State University. “In places where you have a high-tech track of equipment maintenance and the mentality, and there’s less existing infrastructure to meet the needs, you will see number of parts required, “but they are jurisdictions innovating faster,” he said. “But in large cities where the infrastructure not very good at scheduling who gets is well entrenched and has political clout, it’s less likely that government will to use a piece of equipment and when.” collaborate openly with the sharing economy.”

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Fleet management is designed for fl eet and developed to aid “increasingly models can help the cities become managers, he added. “The MuniRent more tech-savvy” seniors in getting more innovative in terms of trans- platform is designed for the crew and around, according to Lyndon Dacuan, portation. Ride sharing also has been supervisors who are out in the fi eld and a content manager with Onvia, a touted for helping the environment who have to deal with equipment on a business intelligence and analytics while reducing congestion. According day-to-day basis,” Mond explained. fi rm that serves the public sector. to a 2010 report from the Univer- The association wants to study the sity of California at Berkeley, every TRANSPORTATION suitability of smartphone apps as the ride-sharing vehicle in operation can Uber, the popular ride-sharing primary dispatching method and the remove nine to 13 cars from the road. service, has taken major cities by willingness of seniors to actually use Then there are some local govern- storm. Despite pushback by taxicab the services, based on comfort, safety ments that want to work directly with companies and regulators, ride sharing and available payment options, such as Uber. Macomb County, Mich., located continues to grow in popularity and a cashless method, Dacuan reported north of Detroit, has turned to the has led a small number of cities to in a company blog post. “The associa- ride-sharing company to provide door- fi gure out how to make the idea work tion also wants to consider the types to-door transportation for residents in ways that directly benefi t taxpayers. of trips people would take, how the who receive a summons for jury duty. The San Diego Association of Govern- method would apply to individuals The pilot project, launched in July, ments has proposed a research project with disabilities and incorporating the provides each juror with an Uber code around the idea of on-demand mobility ride-sharing services into the existing that covers a $20 ride to the county services. Borrowing the idea of app- specialized transportation network.” courthouse. Jurors receive the code based ride sharing that companies like Other cities, such as Fort Collins, and a link to Uber’s account via email, Uber and Lyft have popularized, the Colo., and Winston-Salem, N.C., are and can use it to request a ride on the association wants to explore whether conducting research and investing morning of jury duty. County Clerk ride-sharing services could be expanded funds to study how ride-sharing Carmella Sabaugh said the service gives / IDENTIFYING GOVERNMENT SHARING OPPORTUNITIES

With the sharing economy expected to generate global revenues of $335 billion by 2025, the direct and indirect impact on government is expected to grow as well and has sparked questions around some key issues: What could governments be doing to help the sharing economy? How should governments address such issues as public safety and security? The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and PricewaterhouseCoopers of Canada issued a report that identiﬁ ed a number of opportunities, including a handful that directly involve government:

✓Identifying ✓Encouraging ✓Working with ✓Helping encourage ✓Examining government-focused employees to use economic development the creation of new mechanisms to sharing opportunities sharing platforms agencies, municipalities insurance products (and/ ensure sharing to create efﬁ ciencies, within and across and different levels or) remove the regulatory economy such as the use of public-sector of government impediments that might participants extra public-sector organizations to to coordinate an exist to ensure drivers and understand their building space or create a better approach that fosters passengers, hosts and tax obligations ﬂ eet cars, and their understanding of the sharing economy guests, and other types and are potential to decrease the impact, risks while minimizing the of providers and users compliant. costs and increase and potential of a associated risks. understand how they are revenues for the sharing economy. covered in the case of province. accidents or other issues.

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® ______Designer ______Creative Dir. 100 Blue Ravine Road Folsom, CA 95630 916-932-1300 ______Editorial ______Prepress www.erepublic.com CMY grey T1 T2 T3 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 Page # ______Other ______OK to go BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN ® ______Designer ______Creative Dir. 100 Blue Ravine Road Folsom, CA 95630 916-932-1300 ______Editorial ______Prepress www.erepublic.com CMY grey T1 T2 T3 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 Page # ______Other ______OK to go BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN QUARTERLY REPORT / DIGITAL COMMUNITIES

jurors a safe ride to the courthouse and paratransit and ride options for drop-off locations, typically located helps them avoid congestion and the disabled travelers. In July, Uber between two key demographic areas. hassles of limited parking in the area. launched in Austin, Texas, UberAC- Bridj, an on-demand bus service, “It also creates opportunities for county CESS, a pilot program that adds fi rst started operations May 2014 in residents who are Uber drivers, so I think wheelchair-accessible vehicles Boston. This past spring, it began a it’s good for the whole economy,” she said. to its on-demand transportation trial program in Washington, D.C. Like Local taxi companies expressed services. Similar programs operate Uber, Bridj uses an app to show riders concern about competition from Uber, in New York, Chicago, San Diego, where the service area is on a map but none were willing to off er free rides. Philadelphia and Portland, Ore. and allows them to book a ride from Since 2004, the county has off ered Meanwhile, Seattle has passed an selected pickup locations. And like jurors free bus tickets for rides to the ordinance creating a 10-cent surcharge Uber, Bridj doesn’t have a set route and courthouse, but public transportation on every ride originating in the city schedules. Its on-demand bus service is somewhat limited, according to Todd with the several ride-sharing fi rms that is unique. The company is off ering up Schmitz, deputy county clerk, making operate there. The money will be used to to 10 free rides during its trial run, but the Uber option a potentially useful and defray the cost of owning and operating will charge $5 per ride during normal convenient way for jurors to travel. a wheelchair-accessible taxi, according business operations, which are currently The juror ride-sharing program is to the Shared Use Mobility Center. during the morning rush hour. believed to be the fi rst of its kind in Less understood is the potential Advocates of microtransit say the the country. Depending on its success, impact of the sharing economy on service could help bridge the gap the program could be continued public transit. So-called microtransit between someone’s home and the beyond the trial period in Macomb operations have popped up in some of start of government-funded public County and expand into other coun- the nation’s largest cities. These opera- transit, such as a bus, train or subway ties in Michigan, Michael White, tions have been described as smaller line — the so-called fi rst-mile, last- general manager for Uber Michigan, than running full-sized buses on fi xed mile problem that can keep many told the Detroit Free Press. routes, yet they involve the use of large people from using public transporta- Another example of ride-sharing vans (and, in some cases, actual buses), tion. But in order for that to happen, services that involve local govern- usually equipped with Wi-Fi and a microtransit companies would have to ments directly or indirectly is certain number of fi xed pickup and coordinate as well as collaborate with public transit. Bridj says it shares data with public transit offi cials in Boston and Washington, but it’s not entirely clear how far their collaboration goes. Bridj is also a member of the American Public Transportation Association. Not all microtransit ventures have tried to partner with local governments, nor have they all succeeded. One notable fl op has been Leap Transit, which launched in 2013 as a luxury bus alternative to public transit in San Francisco. Leap tried to take an aggres- sive approach to its role, criticizing the city’s transit system, yet requesting access to its bus stops. Ultimately, A pilot program in Austin, Texas, however, it was done in by the fact that it offers wheelchair accessible couldn’t make money on what it charged vehicles to Uber riders, helping to its riders (who were few in number accommodate disabled travelers. anyway). That’s a problem any city

SHUTTERSTOCK.COM running public transit is familiar with. DAVID KIDD DAVID

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While ride sharing has generated a good deal of debate, the concept of bike sharing has been accepted with open arms in most cities. Unlike Uber or Lyft, which compete with legacy taxicab companies, bike-sharing operations represent an entirely new market for urban mobility. Bike sharing gives cities another transportation option and has been known to promote tourism. Most important, perhaps, they typically don’t cost cities much, with a large portion of the funding provided by federal and state grants, while operational costs are often borne by a private ﬁ rm that manages the bikes and related equipment. Yet the most successful bike-sharing programs are the ones that work closely with city government. Dallas is one of the most recent cities to launch a bike-sharing program. Working with Downtown Dallas Inc., the city plans to put 400 rentable bikes at 40 stations throughout downtown. While a little late to the game, Dallas hopes it gets it right by looking at what has worked and what hasn’t in other cities. Placing bike stations near transit stops is one way to make them work. Public transit passengers can use bikes to ride to destinations outside the rail or bus corridor. Los Angeles, which expects to roll out a 1,100-bike-share program next year, plans to place many stations near its transit stops. The next phase in the bike-sharing experience is to integrate bike rental payments with public transit fare systems as a way to get more people to use both. That’s the “Holy Grail,” Cara Ferrentino, a Philadelphia transportation ofﬁ cial, told The Dallas Morning News. DAVID KIDD DAVID

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SHIFTING TO OUTCOMES In 10 years, the global sharing KIDD DAVID economy is expected to be generating $335 billion in revenue, according to /PUBLIC LIBRARIES: auditing and consulting fi rm Pricewa- terhouseCoopers. That’s a huge jump ARCHETYPES FOR SHARING from today’s estimated $15 billion in revenue the various sectors of the The sharing economy seems so new and revolutionary, yet there’s a place where sharing economy now generate. But as the concept of sharing has been going on for more than a century. The local public this report shows, the amount of direct library, run by government, has been a model of how to share rather than own government activity with the sharing of resources. With more than 16,000 public libraries (including branches) in the U.S., rooms, rides and goods is just a trickle. this public institution is pervasive, yet is often taken for granted in terms of its There’s no question it will grow, position as a role model and incubator for the sharing economy. but will local governments take the It’s important to remember that sharing by libraries differs from the sharing necessary steps to benefi t from what economy in two ways. First, there’s no money involved in what gets shared the sharing economy has to off er? The (outside of overdue fi nes). Second, libraries are inclusive: Anyone can walk into challenge will be changing the tradi- a library and borrow a book or share a computer. That’s not the case with the tional mindset that calls for acquiring private-sector sharing economy, where the cost to rent is a barrier for some. goods and services in order for govern- Does the public library present a new model for the sharing economy? It ment to deliver public services rather certainly has the infrastructure and knowledge that could help sharing spread than rent services to get the job done. in new forms and reach new users. Already a number of public libraries have For that to happen, “governments expanded their services to include repair cafes, garden sharing and makerspaces, need to focus on outcomes rather where patrons can learn how to build things using 3-D printers and other tools. than outputs,” said Arizona State Some libraries even share appliances for patrons who don’t have the ability to buy University’s DeSouza. “That’s hard them; others have hosted health awareness programs as a way to share resources to do because measuring outcomes is critical to the public’s well-being. quite challenging. Everything in our Libraries also have a big intangible: trust. The public has come to rely on current local government processes libraries to provide resources and the professional assistance needed to is output driven, because government understand how to use them. That’s important if the sharing economy is going to is used to asking for resources that expand beyond renting rooms and rides. meet certain outputs not outcomes.” To turn that idea around, local governments will need to make some fundamental changes. First, their contracting and requisition process Second, local governments need experience regardless of who is actu- needs to be more agile. Currently to revisit the concept of regionalism. ally provisioning that public service,” it’s hard for local governments to At fi rst glance, the sharing economy said DeSouza. Only when that happens contract for services in an innova- presents some easy, short-term solu- can local governments begin to reap tive way because of all the built-in tions: share a ride for jury duty; share real value from the sharing economy. inertia with the existing process. a backhoe for a construction project. Once again, the IT sector has Fortunately IT has taken a lead That kind of sharing is benefi cial, but tested the regional waters with on this problem as it pushes to rent it’s not transformative. Eventually a variety of projects that include cloud computing services rather than local governments will need to focus 911 technology, IT infrastructure purchase computing hardware and soft- on what they do best and then fi gure and data centers as ways to reduce ware. Moving IT from a capital expense out how they can collaborate with acquisition costs. Hopefully these to an operational expense provides a other local governments to get the and other models will emerge, model for other agencies to follow when other jobs done. “We need to think opening the door to a more direct it comes to renting goods and services more holistically about how to ensure partnership between local govern- provided by the sharing economy. that the taxpayer gets the greatest ments and the sharing economy.

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® ______Designer ______Creative Dir. 100 Blue Ravine Road Folsom, CA 95630 916-932-1300 ______Editorial ______Prepress www.erepublic.com CMY grey T1 T2 T3 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 5 25 50 75 95 100 Page # ______Other ______OK to go BLACK YELLOW MAGENTA CYAN Sometimes it’s the things you can’t see that make all the difference. When citizens feel safe and secure, big, amazing, powerful things can happen in cities and across businesses. Citizens are free to create, to innovate and to celebrate. As a global leader in Mission Critical communications, we understand the information flowing between citizens, businesses and emergency personnel is the intelligence that helps build safer cities. We are building on Mission Critical Communications to bring you Mission Critical Intelligence, helping you avert, respond to and resolve incidents.

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