Other

Submitted

Opened

Closed

Case Noted | The City of Boston has partnered with Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare to bring 80 new car-share vehicles to Boston through the DriveBoston program. Planners from the Transportation Department visited a range of locations and selected places with the largest benefit for residents that had the smallest impact on street operations and parking. The program will place vehicles in dedicated spaces around the City, including many that are currently underserved by car-share options. The majority of the spaces will be in City-owned municipal parking lots (49 spaces), with the remaining 31 spots being placed on street corners. The location of spaces were chosen by examining car registrations per household, average household mileage per day, the proximity to MBTA stations as well as Hubway stations, Main Street districts and coordination with Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare. Roxbury received 12 spots and Dorchester received 10 spots. Jamaica Plain received eight spots and the additional spots were distributed in small numbers across the City. The program spaces are all visible on an online map at boston.gov/driveboston. The DriveBoston program has three main goals: (1) create "mobility hubs" at key MBTA stations and along bus routes to strengthen the City's transportation network; (2) reduce the number of private vehicles per household which should relieve parking pressure; and (3) better connect the Main Street Business Districts. Data collected about how frequently people use the vehicles and for what purposes will help inform the City's transportation planners on the success of the program. National studies on the impact of car-share programs have shown significant, positive impacts. Expanding car-share in a city, for example, can help reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, increasing car-share availability has been shown to reduce local car ownership, as residents chose to join a car-share program rather than buy, maintain and find parking for one. One study estimates that adding each car-share vehicles reduces between nine and 13 cars overall. The DriveBoston program is an early action initiative of Go Boston 2030, the City's transportation planning effort. The effort is being led by the Boston Transportation Department and the Mayor's Mobility Plan Advisory Committee. One of the primary goals that emerged from the GoBoston2030 planning process so far, which involved over 6,000 people, was to provide better access to all modes of travel. This call for access to all kinds of ways to get around the city has led to an aspirational target of having every Boston household within a 10 minute walk of a rail station or key bus route, a Hubway station, and car-share. During this 18 month pilot program, The City of Boston will work with Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare to collect data on usage and survey information from members. The City will analyze the data and use it to inform constituents on the future of the program.