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STAFF REPORT

February 23, 2000

To: Planning and Transportation Committee

From: Commissioner, Urban Development Services

Subject: Car Sharing Initiatives

Purpose:

To present, for Council's consideration, a number of proposals that support car sharing.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The preferrential treatments proposed to encourage and promote car sharing entail minimal financial costs to the City and would be subject to on-going review and evaluation.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) Given Council's recognition of residentially-based car sharing as part of the City's sustainable transportation strategy, the following three initiatives (as outlined more fully in the text of this report) be endorsed:

a) permit parking privileges be made available to AutoShare vehicles at the current rate of $89.88 per vehicle per year;

b) the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) be requested to grant AutoShare's request for a flat rate for all monthly permits issued for the use of Toronto Parking Authority lots and that accompanying lock boxes be installed on TPA lots where appropriate, and

c) as a promotional effort, AutoShare partner with the TTC to offer current annual TTC pass holders residing in areas where AutoShare services are available a $100 reduction in AutoShare membership fees.

(2) That the initiatives outlined in Recommendation 1 be adopted on a one-year pilot project basis and the appropriate City staff be requested to report back to the Planning and Transportation Committee on the experience gained from those measures.

(3) That staffs of Moving the Economy and Urban Development Services develop a set of guidelines to help determine the amount, type and duration of Council support that should be provided to private sector initiatives that further the public policy objective of moving towards a more sustainable transportation system in the City.

Background:

By adopting Clause 1 of Report No.7 of the Urban Environment and Development Committee at its meeting of May 11 and 12, 1999, City Council recognized car sharing as part of the City's sustainable transportation strategy. Currently, there is one functioning car sharing organization in the city, AutoShare, and another, the Flexlink Advanced Auto Network (FAAN) which is at the planning stage. Both are designed to eventually become self-sustaining, for profit, operations.

My report of April 13, 1999 (as contained in Clause 1 of Report No.7 of UEDC), describes the car sharing concept and the public benefits that it may be expected to bring and provides details on the AutoShare and FAAN initiatives. The report recommends a number of measures the City would undertake to encourage and promote the implementation of car sharing programs and, on this basis, Council directed the Commissioner of Urban Development Services to:



" a) undertake discussions with the Toronto Transit Commission with respect to the AutoShare proposal; and

b) examine other creative parking alternatives and report back to the Urban Environment and Development Committee accordingly."

City staff have continued to work with the AutoShare and FAAN organizations and this report brings forward some specific proposals for Council's consideration.

Comments:

Three proposals for supporting and promoting car sharing are presented below:

(i) Permit Parking

Staff of the Works and Emergency Services Department have indicated support for a one year pilot project that would enable AutoShare vehicles to be issued parking permits for a specific area or street where such parking is currently allowed. Where there are waiting lists for permit parking (for either areas or streets), the AutoShare application would join the queue in the normal manner. The annual rate of $89.88 would apply to each AutoShare permit which is the lower rate given to applicants with no off-street parking alternative. The permits would be issued in AutoShare's name and centrally administered.

Initially, AutoShare had sought a type of "floating" permit whereby car-share vehicles could park overnight anywhere in the City where permit parking is allowed and a space is found to be available. A similar arrangement to this exists in Vancouver. The staff proposal limits the permit attached to each AutoShare vehicle to a particular area or street and, therefore, is less geographically flexible. However, the staff proposal is a step in the right direction and makes permit parking available to collectively owned vehicles on the same basis as for privately owned ones.

As a practical consideration, it should be noted that the AutoShare fleet now totals 16 vehicles. If all these vehicles acquired a permit the impact on the entire permit parking system would be minor. Of course, AutoShare is hoping to continue to expand its fleet and scope of operations over time. However, the current permit parking proposal is being put forward as a one-year pilot project and this will provide the opportunity to review and evaluate its impact and to introduce modifications if necessary, including a monitoring process if the initiative is continued. If collectively owned cars prove to be a successful substitute for privately owned ones, the growth of car sharing should act to reduce the overall demand for parking.

(ii) Off Street Parking

To provide off-street parking facilities for its vehicles, AutoShare currently purchases monthly permits, at varying rates, from 13 Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) lots. In the fall of 1999, AutoShare requested one flat rate charge (preferably at the lower end of the price range) for monthly permits and also asked the TPA to allow lock boxes to be installed on the lots.

Acting on advice from its staff on these requests and other related matters, the TPA Board approved the installation of lock boxes on TPA lots but deferred the question of flat rate monthly permits until Toronto City Council is advised on a protocol for dealing with such requests from private organizations. The protocol issue is addressed in a later section of this report.

Both AutoShare and FAAN are looking at new, multi-unit residential sites as possible opportunities for achieving dedicated off-street parking spaces for car-share vehicles. Key to this strategy is the idea that, if it can be shown that there is sufficient support for car-sharing among the occupants of the new residential development, it may prove possible to lower the overall parking requirement and have one or more of the fewer number of parking spaces given over to the use of car-share members. To date no firm proposal along these lines has been brought forward for the City's consideration.

(iii) Partnering With The TTC



The TTC has agreed to assist in the marketing of the AutoShare concept. The TTC's mail-out to current annual pass holders residing in areas where AutoShare services are available will include an introductory offer of a $100 reduction in AutoShare membership. The cost of this reduced membership fee will be absorbed by AutoShare, not the TTC.

Overall, car sharing can be expected to reduce the rates of car ownership and use. Also, transit is commonly used to access car-share vehicles at the collective pick-up and drop-off points. For these reasons car sharing is regarded as supportive of policies aimed at reducing auto dependency and increasing transit use.

(iv) Protocol Issues

As noted earlier, private enterprises which also produce social benefits, such as commercial car-sharing companies, raise the question of what is the appropriate role for government in encouraging and promoting these types of ventures. Consequently, it would be helpful to develop a set of guidelines or principles to assist City Council in determining its level of involvement in the activities of such private ventures as AutoShare.

For Council to provide direct assistance to a commercial undertaking there needs to be a clear understanding of the public benefits that are expected to be secured and the public policy framework into which the proposal fits. With respect to AutoShare's proposals, these basic requirements have already been addressed in my April, 1999 report on car sharing.

Even where an established policy framework exists, specific private sector applications for Council assistance should undergo individual review. Council's endorsement of a worthy cause should not be taken as a blanket approval for all private claims for assistance made in the name of that cause. AutoShare's specific proposals have undergone individual review in this report where recommendations to Council are made, including endorsing a flat rate charge for monthly permits in TPA lots. The TPA Board had deferred a decision on this matter pending the submission of this report from the Commissioner of Urban Development Services.

The sustainable transportation initiative, of which car sharing is a part, is being led by the Moving The Economy program which is partnered with the City. This report recommends that Moving The Economy staff and City staff work together to develop a more comprehensive and formal set of guidelines for dealing with proposals for public/private partnerships in the sustainable transportation field.

Conclusions:

This report builds upon my earlier report of April, 1999 which led to Council's endorsement of car sharing as one element of the City's sustainable transportation strategy. Particular proposals from AutoShare are reviewed from both a policy and an implementation perspective and recommendations are presented for Council's consideration.

AutoShare's proposals have raised the larger question of how City Council should determine its level and type of involvement in supporting private enterprises that also generate social benefits. More thought needs to be given to this general issue and it is recommended that staffs of Moving The Economy and Urban Development Services work together to develop a set of guidelines for evaluating public/private partnerships in the sustainable transportation field. These guidelines would then be presented to council for its adoption.

Contact:

Greg Stewart, Program Coordinator

Metro Hall

Telephone: 392-2691

Fax: 392-3821

E-mail: gstewart@toronto.ca

Reviewed by:

____________________________ ________________________

Paul J. Bedford Paula M. Dill

Executive Director and Chief Planner Commissioner

City Planning Urban Development Services

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