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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-10-065 - Grand River CarShareREPORT REPORT TO: Community Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: September 27,2010 SUBMITTED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director, Community Programs and Services PREPARED BY: Mark Hildebrand, Director, Community Programs and Services, ext. 2687 Don Miller, Director of Fleet, ext. 2780 Peter Oldridge, MSW Student WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: September 21, 2010 REPORT NO.: CSD-10-065 SUBJECT: GRAND RIVER CAR SHARE RECOMMENDATION: That the Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement with Grand River CarShare to provide one parking spot at each of the non-revenue generating City of Kitchener facility lots, as outlined in report CSD-10-065, for the use of Grand River CarShare vehicles, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and, That in subsequent years, the General Manager of Community Services be authorized to execute amendments to the agreement, including additions and deletions of parking locations, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and further, That staff proceed with the application to make the City of Kitchener a Corporate member of GRCS, with an evaluation of the usage, costs and benefits of membership occurring after a 6 month period. BACKGROUND: On September 13, 2010 at Finance and Corporate Services Committee, correspondence from Jason Hammond, President, Grand River CarShare (GRCS) was considered. The Committee was asked to contemplate the provision of dedicated parking at non-revenue generating City- owned facility parking lots throughout the community for use of vehicles owned and operated by the GRCS co-operative. It was suggested that the wide adoption of car sharing supported many municipal goals including the advancement of transportation demand management (e.g. the reduction of road and parking congestion); improving air quality and mitigating climate change; the provision of essential and equitable mobility, as well as relieving poverty and enhancing neighbourhood vitality, to name a few. Ultimately GRCS is looking for approximately 30 spaces throughout the community. The delegation asked the City to consider this proposal with the intent of having a report come back in the future outlining the details of how an agreement between the City of Kitchener and GRCS could work. ï ó ï Community Services staff suggested nine possible sites that could initially be considered, including Community Centres and Pools, where one parking space could be accommodated with limited to no impact to the operations of the facility. Details outlining how to operationalize the GRCS proposal, as well as an agreement between the City of Kitchener and GRCS still needed to be developed for Council’s consideration. At this meeting it was resolved: That staff be directed to work with representatives of Grand River CarShare (GRCS) to determine the number of parking spaces in non-revenue generating City facilities, such as Community Centres, that could potentially be made available as a designated parking space for use of the GRCS, and how such a partnership would work operationally between the City and the GRCS, to assist in growing their services of car sharing co- operative; and, That staff investigate the potential for the City of Kitchener to become a Corporate member of the GRCS, similar to that of the Region of Waterloo, wherein a GRCS vehicle could be made available to those City employees who use motor vehicles on an infrequent basis for City business; and further, That a report concerning these matters be brought forward for consideration to the September 27, 2010 Community Services Committee meeting. REPORT: The Car Sharing Model Defined Car sharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. The model works particularly well for customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle. The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a democratically controlled company, public agency, cooperative, or ad hoc grouping. There are more than one thousand cities worldwide where car shares exist. Urban car sharing is often promoted as an alternative to owning a car where public transit, walking, and cycling can be used most of the time and a car is only necessary for out-of-town trips, moving large items, or special occasions. Car sharing is generally not cost-effective for commuting to a full-time job on a regular basis. However, most car sharing operators and cooperating public agencies believe that those who do not drive daily or who drive less than 10,000 kilometers annually may find car sharing to be more cost-effective than car ownership Car sharing differs from traditional car rentals in the following ways: Car sharing is not limited by office hours; Reservation, pickup, and return is all self-service; Vehicles can be rented by the minute, by the hour, as well as by the day; Users are members and have been pre-approved to drive (background driving checks have been performed and a payment mechanism for vehicle use has been established); Vehicle locations are distributed throughout the service area, and often located for access by public transport; and Insurance and fuel costs are included in the rates. Grand River CarShare: A Brief Introduction Founded in 1998, originally named “The People’s Car Cooperative”, Grand River CarShare was the first legally incorporated car sharing program in Ontario. Grand River CarShare and Hamilton CarShare are incorporated as a single not-for-profit car sharing co-operative. The co- ï ó î op’s mission is to deliver a car sharing service and to promote car sharing as an important component of a transportation system that supports an alternative to privately-owned automobiles within the Region of Waterloo and the City of Hamilton. Through this, the Co-op seeks to reduce overall transportation costs, traffic congestion and air pollution. Grand River CarShare seeks to provide: Access to vehicles on a self-serve, hourly, pay-per-use basis; Education to the public about the economic, social, and environmental advantages of car sharing; and A model of a non-hierarchical, democratic enterprise as a service provider and employer. Grand River CarShare now has 12 vehicles for use in the Region of Waterloo and has approximately 400 members that access services both here and through its affiliate organization in Hamilton. Between 200-250 of these members are from Kitchener. Similar to the car sharing industry in North America, GRCS has reported growth by 30 – 40% each year, over the last four years. Provision of reserved parking spaces GRCS has made a request to the City of Kitchener for 30 parking spaces, throughout the community, at non-revenue generating City facility lots. Although they do not yet have 30 vehicles to place in these spaces, nor is there a membership base to sustain the additional vehicles as of yet, they acknowledge that the provision of parking provides significant leverage in extending car sharing services throughout Kitchener. GRCS is suggesting that each proposed parking spot would have erected (at the cost of GRCS) a sign, reserving the spot for Grand River CarShare. Although there will be instances where there will be a reserved sign erected where no vehicle is present, it has been shown that having a presence such as this in the community is an excellent marketing tool, and significantly impacts membership growth. The placement of the sign shows the community that the stationing of a CarShare vehicle at a particular location is supported. Without this presence, local membership growth slows dramatically as residents are less certain if the program will run or not. Normally, a minimum of 20 new members are needed, within walking distance, to support a new vehicle station. Although a total of 30 spaces are being requested, staff is suggesting that Council initially consider providing one parking space at the following Community Centres and Pools. 1. Rockway Centre, 1405 King St East, Kitchener 2. Breithaupt Centre, 350 Margaret Avenue, Kitchener 3. Chandler Mowat CC, 222 Chandler Drive, Kitchener 4. Country Hills CC, 100 Rittenhouse Rd., Kitchener 5. Doon Pioneer Park CC, 150 Pioneer Drive, Kitchener 6. Forest Heights CC, 1700 Queen’s Blvd., Kitchener 7. Mill Courtland CC, 216 Mill St., Kitchener 8. Victoria Hills CC, 10 Chopin Drive, Kitchener 9. Lyle S. Hallman Pool, 600 Heritage Drive, Kitchener These spaces can be provided immediately and facility operators at each of the sites have been consulted and confirmed that the provision of one spot for CarShare will not significantly impact the operations at the facility. In the case that this might change, staff will include in the agreement with GRCS, the ability to alter or remove parking locations, given 30 days notice, if site circumstances change or issues arise that can not be resolved. ï ó í Staff is also suggesting that in subsequent years, the General Manager of Community Services be authorized to add or delete parking locations in the agreement, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor. GRCS is suggesting that with the erection of signs at various facilities, membership will develop organically wherever the service is naturally demanded by residents. As this venture progresses into the future, staff suggest meeting with GRCS at least annually to: i) review and evaluate each of the existing sites where GRCS spaces are reserved and determine if changes are necessary; and ii) discuss other strategic City of Kitchener facility lots where spaces could be reserved and signs could be erected in the future to encourage further participation. Corporate Membership Staff was also requested by Council to investigate the potential for the City of Kitchener to become a Corporate member with GRCS. One of the most powerful effects of Corporate membership, forwarded by CarShare, is the ability to influence the commuting behaviour of employees. Many employees currently drive their car to work in order to have access to their vehicle for work trips, such as site visits, meetings at other facilities etc. A membership with GRCS would provide an alternative to employees who might otherwise consider commuting by cycling, riding transit or carpooling. If these employees need access to a vehicle throughout the day for work purposes, a driver account can be provided on the Corporate membership at CarShare and they would be able to access a car. Arguably if enough participation occurs, parking demand is reduced as employees begin to leave their cars at home. Investigated were the costs associated with becoming a member of the GRCS as well as a review of City of Kitchener’s own vehicle resources that are bookable and can be utilized by City of Kitchener staff. Grand River CarShare Costs The cost of a membership at Grand River CarShare is $600 for a non-profit organization. This cost covers a membership for four drivers in the organization, and each additional driver after that costs an additional $100. Memberships are transferable between employees and refundable if the City of Kitchener chooses to terminate some or all of their memberships. There is also a $25 application fee per membership which is non-refundable and covers costs associated with downloading drivers’ abstracts as well as a member orientation session. The average cost associated with driving a CarShare vehicle (including gas) is approximately $5 per hour to the user. City of Kitchener bookable vehicles The Fleet Division maintains a small number of Fleet Pool vehicles that are bookable resources through Microsoft Outlook shared calendars, via email to the Manager of Fleet. It is estimated that the average daily cost to run the vehicles to the City of Kitchener is $31.60 (including depreciation, fuel, repairs, maintenance, licensing, etc). The daily rate charged out by Fleet currently for scheduled use is $50 per day. Although not finalized, it is anticipated that a half day cost would be $25. Short Term and On Demand (emergency) vehicle needs In March 2010 Fleet conducted a survey of City Hall staff that would have short term or on demand (emergency) vehicle needs while acting within the scope of their responsibilities. The results of the survey showed the following: 1. Short Term Scheduled Use approximately 20-25 staff would require short-term (scheduled) access to fleet vehicles, the number of half day bookings per month = 3, ï ó ì the number of full day bookings per month = 5. 2. On Demand (Emergency Use) approximately 27 staff require on demand (unscheduled/emergency) access to fleet vehicles, there are approximately 32 events a month, average duration of the event is 3 hours. Based on these statistics, the aggregate staff need for short term and on demand use is estimated to be 1.5 vehicles. Since this survey was completed in March, Fleet has been developing strategies to make vehicles accessible to employees with short term and on demand need. This includes the development of a suitable scheduling system as well as a driver eligibility and orientation process. Fleet proposed a pilot program to meet these needs to begin January 2011 for a four month period. This pilot would make available to staff, three vehicles including one current Fleet vehicle as well as two vehicles that would have to be rented. Considering the option of Corporate membership, staff are suggesting that this pilot either be reduced in scope or placed on hold, and that the City of Kitchener become a corporate member with Grand River CarShare. Similar to the original pilot, staff are also suggesting that the benefits, use and cost effectiveness of the membership be evaluated after a 6 month period. The benefits of becoming a member include: Vehicle scheduling does not require additional COK administration, Vehicle maintenance does not require any COK administration, and Vehicles could be scheduled for personal use outside of the regular working hours to allow staff opportunities to utilize public transit or other alternate methods of transportation to /from work, and Memberships are refundable. Since part of the original pilot program was to include three vehicle transponders for parking at City Hall, staff would recommend that the CarShare vehicles be provided dedicated, clearly marked parking spots in the City Hall underground parking garage as well. If staff is given direction to enlist the City of Kitchener as a corporate member, the following administrative details would still have to be resolved: The administration and coordination of invoicing from GRCS between operating areas, Membership requirements, invoicing and administration if staff are to schedule vehicle use outside of business hours for personal use, Submission of invoices for reimbursement to CarShare (e.g. for refueling) Administering charges for failure to follow with specific CarShare procedures (e.g. booking cancellation charges, late return charges, failure to lock vehicle doors, etc.) FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Corporate membership can be funded through operating budget account number 5017050- 650000. Charges for vehicle usage would be the responsibility of the operating area utilizing the service. ï ó ë COMMUNICATIONS: The proposal brought forward by Grand River CarShare was considered at the September 16, 2010 Environmental Committee meeting. Several members spoke in support of the proposals, noting how they align with the tenets of the Air Quality in Kitchener report. The Environmental Committee resolved to endorse both requests of the GRCS, as outlined at the September 13, 2010 Finance and Corporate Services Committee. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, General Manager, Community Services ï ó ê