Deployment.
COBRA, 14.02.01.08
in effect.08 Deployment.
A. In General.
(1) A permit holder shall ensure that a dockless vehicle is deployed in compliance with City Code Article 31, § 38-19, Unlawful Parking.
(2) A permit holder shall provide an account for its mobile application to the Department so that Department employees can access a dockless vehicle for free for the purposes of:
(a) Education;
(b) A routine vehicle inspection; or
(c) Vehicle repositioning.
(3) A permit holder shall apply speed geo-fencing to a dockless vehicle by using a speed governor to establish a City-wide speed limit of 15 mph except for:
(a) In a reduced speed zone as defined in the Department’s MDS Policy API where speeds are limited to eight mph; and
(b) In a no ride zone as defined in the Department’s MDS Policy API where a dockless vehicle is limited to a speed of no more than three mph.
B. Deployment District Requirements.
(1) On each day of service, a permit holder shall deploy to each deployment district:
(a) A minimum of 5 percent of their fleet; and
(b) A maximum of 25 percent of their fleet.
(2) Compliance.
The Department shall:
(a) Evaluate daily compliance with the requirements in §B(1) of this regulation based on at least one hour of compliance between 5:00 a.m. and 9:0 a.m.; and
(b) Notify a permit holder in violation of the requirements in §B(1) of this regulation via a compliance score notification.
(3) A permit holder shall redistribute their fleet within three hours of receipt of a compliance score notification from the Department.
C. Equitable Deployment Requirements.
(1) A permit holder shall deploy a minimum of three dockless vehicles per day to each equity zone.
(2) Compliance.
The Department shall:
(a) Evaluate daily compliance based on at least one hour of compliance between 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m; and
(b) Notify a permit holder of in violation of §C(1)-(2) of this regulation via a compliance score notification.
D. Prohibitions.
(1) A permit holder may not deploy a dockless vehicle:
(a) Outside of a parking corral on a block face that contains an official parking corral designated by the Department, except as provided in §D(2) of this regulation;
(b) In a quantity greater than ten per block face, except as allowed by the Department to accommodate a special event;
(c) On a block face which contains the front entrance to a K-8 school;
(d) In a tree pit or otherwise landscaped area;
(e) In front of a property with an approved non-deployment request in accordance with §E of this regulation; or
(f) In a location the Department has notified the permit holder that they may not deploy to, beginning 48 hours after the notification.
(2) If a parking corral is full, a permit holder may deploy a dockless vehicle on a block face outside of the parking corral.
(3) Unless a permit holder receives approval from the Department, a permit holder may not designate a public street in Baltimore City as a:
(a) No parking zone;
(b) Reduced speed zone; or
(c) No ride zone.
E. Non-Deployment Requests.
(1) A property owner or manager may submit a non-deployment request in writing to the Department for an area adjacent to their property.
(2) The Department shall notify a permit holder:
(a) Of an approved non-deployment request; and
(b) That an approved non-deployment request will begin 48-hours after notification.
F. Severe Weather and Emergencies.
(1) If 24-hour advanced notice is provided, the Department may:
(a) Suspend the requirements of this regulation; or
(b) Require the removal of:
(i) An entire fleet; or
(ii) A portion of a fleet in a defined geographic location.
(2) The Department may require a permit holder to remove a dockless vehicle from:
(a) An evacuation route prior to an emergency snow event; and
(b) A low-lying area prior to an emergency flooding event.
G. Special Events.
The Department may suspend the requirements of this regulation during a special event.
H. Temporary Exemptions from Deployment Regulations.
(1) A permit holder may apply for a temporary exemption from the deployment requirements in this chapter.
(2) A permit holder shall include a plan for communicating operational changes to affected users and the public within the application for temporary exemption.
(3) The Department shall review applications for temporary exemption:
(a) Within 24 hours for an application based on an immediate safety concern; and
(b) Within five business days for other exemption requests.
I. Alternative Deployment Locations.
(1) A permit holder shall obtain permission to deploy a dockless vehicle to an alternative deployment location from:
(a) The Department;
(b) A private property owner; or
(c) Another City agency.
(2) A permit holder shall communicate the permission to deploy a dockless vehicle in an alternative deployment location via:
(a) Signage approved by the entity granting permission; or
(b) A mobile or web application.
Source: City of Baltimore Department of Legislative Reference, City of Baltimore Law Library (codes.baltimorecity.gov; Open Law Library bulk XML)URL: https://codes.baltimorecity.gov/us/md/cities/baltimore/cobra/14.02.01.08Fetched: 10/25/2026