On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Program Evaluation Report JANUARY 2017 SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY | SUSTAINABLE STREETS DIVISION | PARKING 1 On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GOAL: “MAKE TRANSIT, WALKING, BICYCLING, TAXI, RIDE SHARING AND CARSHARING THE PREFERRED MEANS OF TRAVEL.” (SFMTA STRATEGIC PLAN) As part of SFpark and the San Francisco Findings Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) effort to better manage parking demand, • On-street car share vehicles were in use an the SFMTA conducted a pilot of twelve on- average of six hours per day street car share spaces (pods) in 2011-2012. • 80% of vehicles were shared by at least ten The SFMTA then carried out a large-scale unique users pilot to test the use of on-street parking • An average of 19 unique users shared each spaces as pods for shared vehicles. The vehicle monthly On-Street Car Share Parking Permit Pilot (Pilot) was approved by the SFMTA’s Board • 17% of car share members reported selling of Directors in July 2013 and has been or donating a car due to car sharing operational since April 2014. This report presents an evaluation of the Pilot. Placing car share spaces on-street increases shared vehicle access, Data from participating car share convenience, and visibility. We estimate organizations show that the Pilot pods that car sharing as a whole has eliminated performed well, increased awareness of thousands of vehicles from San Francisco car sharing overall, and suggest demand streets. The Pilot showed promise as a tool for on-street spaces in the future. to extend the benefits of car sharing and Performance of the spaces was analyzed allow more people to live with fewer cars for how many individual users accessed a or no car at all. space, how long the trips were, and how often the vehicle was rented, among other factors. An on-street car share vehicle was judged to perform well if it was: • Available for reservation most of the time • Used frequently • Used by many unique users • Used for short trips SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY | SUSTAINABLE STREETS DIVISION | PARKING 2 On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation Challenges • Some neighbors didn’t like on-street spaces used for this purpose • Theft and vandalism of shared vehicles • Implementation coordination • Construction and street closures Because construction permitting is not controlled by the SFMTA and street closures are not always communicated to the SFMTA, unpredictable street closures can take car share pods off-line for days or months, diminishing the utility and reliability of the service. SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY | SUSTAINABLE STREETS DIVISION | PARKING 3 On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation An Overview of Car Sharing The Transportation Research Board Some forgo vehicle ownership entirely. describes car sharing a “mobility option One comprehensive study showed that that allows individuals to pay for and use every shared car replaces as many as 13 automobiles on an as-needed basis through private vehicles.2 Lower car ownership membership programs.”1 Car sharing differs rates reduce overall parking demand, from conventional car rental because car especially in residential and mixed-use share vehicles typically are reserved and areas. utilized in small (usually hourly) increments with round-the-clock unattended access to Reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT) cars with no rental office or staff required. Overall, members of CSOs travel fewer Insurance and fuel charges are usually miles by car than car owners, which helps incorporated into hourly rates. to reduce congestion and parking demand.3 One estimate concluded that each shared Car sharing businesses have existed in vehicle leads to about 18,000 fewer VMT San Francisco for 15 years. City CarShare every year.4 was founded in San Francisco 2001, and for-profit car share organization (CSOs) Reduced greenhouse and entered the San Francisco market a few other emissions years later. Reducing VMT translates to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. On average, Car sharing differs from carpooling and ride by reducing VMT and using fuel efficient sharing, in which one or more passengers vehicles with low emissions profiles, each share a ride to the same destination as a vehicle’s driver. Car sharing is also different from ride hailing or ride sourcing, also 2 Martin, Elliot, Susan Shaheen, and Jeffrey Lidicker. referred to as transportation network 2010. Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Hold- company (TNC) ride sharing, which ings: Results from North American Shared-Use Vehicle effectively is a taxicab or limousine service Survey. Transportation Research Record: No. 2143: managed by a smart phone app platform. 150–158. 3 Martin, Elliot, and Susan Shaheen. 2011. The Impact of Benefits of car sharing Carsharing on Public Transit and Non-Motorized Travel: An Exploration of North American Carsharing Survey Data. Car sharing has been shown by academic Energies 2011, 4: 2094-2114. Cervero, Robert and Yushin analysis of to achieve the following effects: Tasi. 2004. City CarShare in San Francisco, California: Second-Year Travel Demand and Car Ownership Impacts. Reduced automobile ownership rates Transportation Research Record No. 1887: 117-127. Cer- vero, Robert, Aaron Golub, and Brendan Nee. 2006. San By having access to a vehicle households Francisco City CarShare: Longer-Term Travel-Demand and often give up a second or third vehicle. Car Ownership Impacts. Working Paper. 4 Osgood, Andrea. 2007. Curb Dreams: Allocating On- 1 Transit Cooperative Research Program. 2005. Report No. Street Parking for Carsharing. Unpublished master’s 108: Car Sharing: Where and How it Succeeds. thesis. University of California, Los Angeles. SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY | SUSTAINABLE STREETS DIVISION | PARKING 4 On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation shared vehicle reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated seven tons “CORE VALUES FOR every year.5 Shared vehicles tend to be used more frequently, which reduces the THE TRANSPORTATION number of cold starts, further lowering NETWORK: emissions when compared to private automobiles. TRANSIT FIRST: TRANSIT, WALKING, Reduced household transportation expenses and increased BICYCLING, TAXI, CAR economic reinvestment SHARING, AND RIDE AAA estimates the average US car costs SHARING HAVE THE $8,698 per year to operate.6 Some of these savings are reinvested in the local HIGHEST PRIORITY. “ economy. (SFMTA STRATEGIC More walking, PLAN) bicycling, and transit use San Franciscans already walk, bike, and use public transit more than most people in the nation. However, those who are choice of CSOs. CSOs report that one members of CSOs do so more than non- of the key challenges for expanding car members, with 77% of trips compared to sharing is the difficulty of acquiring parking 67%, respectively.7 spaces for car sharing parking or pods, which are locations where customers can pick up a car sharing vehicle. The SFMTA SFMTA’s interest in car sharing can use parking policy to encourage and facilitate car sharing, thereby realizing The SFMTA’s car sharing policy is intended more of its benefits. to expand the availability of car sharing across San Francisco, increase the usage The SFMTA can advance a number of of car sharing, and preserve or increase key objectives in its 2013-2018 Strategic Plan by facilitating the expansion of car sharing. These include increasing travel 5 Martin, Elliot, and Susan A. Shaheen. 2011. Greenhouse by non-private automobile (Objective 2.3), Gas Emission Impacts of Carsharing in North America, improving parking management (Objective IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2.4), and reducing resource consumption Vol. 12, No. 4: 1074-1086. and emissions (Objective 3.1). In 6 Stepp, Erin. “Annual Cost to Own and Operate a Vehicle combination with the SFMTA’s efforts Falls to $8,698, Finds AAA.” American Automobile Associ- to better utilize transportation demand ation, April 28 (2015). management strategies, improve parking 7 Cervero, Robert, Aaron Golub, and Brendan Nee. 2006. management, and make transit, walking, San Francisco City CarShare: Longer-Term Travel-Demand and bicycling more attractive, car sharing and Car Ownership Impacts. Working Paper. SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL TRANSPORTATION AGENCY | SUSTAINABLE STREETS DIVISION | PARKING 5 On-Street Car Sharing Pilot Evaluation helps achieve all these goals. to rent their privately-owned vehicles to other members via a matching service. Additionally car sharing supports San Companies that use the peer-to-peer model Francisco’s “Transit-First Policy.” The policy include Getaround and Turo (formerly states: “Decisions regarding the use of RelayRides). limited public street and sidewalk space shall encourage the use of public rights of One-way way by pedestrians, bicyclists, and public These services allow members to pick transit, and shall strive to reduce traffic up a vehicle parked near them, make and improve public health and safety.” a trip, and leave the shared vehicle at On-street car sharing increases access to a different location anywhere within a shared vehicles, thereby using the public defined operation area, typically at an on- right-of-way to reduce traffic and improve street parking space. One-way car sharing public health through decreased vehicle requires a permit that exempts the shared ownership, decreased emissions, and vehicle from parking meter payment increased street safety. and/or time limits