California To Award $6 Million Through Car Sharing & Mobility Options Pilot Project

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The California Air Resources Board, often referred to simply as CARB, will be granting a total of $6 million in awards as part of the Car Sharing and Mobility Options Pilot Project for Fiscal Year 2016–17.

In relation to this, CARB has now officially opened a grant solicitation for project applicants.

To explain, the purported purpose of the project is to slash greenhouse gas emissions (as well as air pollution) through the use of zero and low emissions carsharing fleets, as well as other mobility options, in disadvantaged areas of California.

CARB has apparently revealed that it prefers applicants to be based around one of 4 basic carsharing models. These are (via Green Car Congress):

◊ Traditional Car Sharing: A network of car share users who rent a vehicle for short amounts of time (often by the hour) from a fleet of designated vehicles. Users are pre-approved to drive alone or with passengers. Users reserve a car typically online or through a smart phone application or phone call and pick up the reserved car from a designated public location. EVSE is also typically located in an open public environment.

◊ Carpooling/Vanpooling: A group of users meet at a common meeting location or are picked up and travel together to a common destination, such as a work center. In this model, there is typically a regular driver and backup driver with a set of passengers.

◊ Combination Car Sharing and Vanpool: A passenger vehicle or van is used to transport riders to a common destination such as work, then — during what would typically be a long period of vehicle non-use — the vehicle is available for use by members or others throughout the day until the vanpool return trip. Upon return, vehicles are available for sharing during evenings, weekends, and holidays.

◊ Dial-a-ride/Ride-sharing: Vehicles with trained drivers who transport community members to various locations upon request. This model likely serves a disadvantaged community underserved by public transportation.

These basic models can be modified by applicants, though, and simply represent suggestions.

The total funding pool of $6 million discussed above is split between $4.5 million for larger projects (up to $2.25 million is available for each) and $1.5 million for smaller projects (up to $750,000 is available for each of these). The funds originate with California’s Low Carbon Transportation Investments, which come from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, and, ultimately, from California’s Cap-and-Trade Program.


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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