Local Use Vehicles (LUVs) National Working Group

After working with multiple clients exploring the adoption of local use vehicles (LUVs), Cityfi identified a critical regulatory barrier to deployment. LUVs are vehicles larger than a bike but smaller than a car, and include golf carts, e-cargo bikes, e-tuktuks, and low-speed vehicles (LSVs), among others. Most are defined at the Federal level, where vehicle safety is regulated. Those definitions flow into state rules governing how LUVs are licensed, registered, insured, and where they can operate. Cities then layer on their own operational parameters and enforcement. The result is a patchwork of regulations that makes it difficult for manufacturers to scale and for users to operate these vehicles, limiting adoption.

Method

Despite the clear public benefit, no single stakeholder was positioned to drive a solution. Identifying this critical need, Cityfi secured funding, partnered with the Shared Use Mobility Center (SUMC), and convened a national working group of states, cities, manufacturers, and operators around a common goal: develop model code at the state and city level that builds regulatory consistency and operational clarity, removing a critical barrier to vehicle adoption.

Facilitating across a diverse set of stakeholders, Cityfi structured the effort around four, comprehensive virtual working group sessions, targeted task force meetings in between, and substantial desk research and interviews. The result will be clear, actionable model code developed through consensus, to be disseminated in a second phase of the effort.

Project Information

Client: Shared Use Mobility Center

Location: National