The City of New York continues to take steps in the complicated race that means “liberating” the streets from the infernal vehicular traffic, traffic jams, chaos and consequently environmental pollution.
And on this road, the Department of Transportation (DOT), in addition to the modernization of some junctions and the construction of more protected bicycle lanes, announces the first expansion of the shared vehicle program (‘Carsharing’), which includes 270 new spaces in El Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.
The new installations began this week and will continue through next week, bringing the total number of these dedicated car-sharing sidewalk and parking spaces to 552.
These ‘carsharing’ services allow people to access short-term rental vehicles, usually for part of a day or even an hour. Obviously, the lessee pays less than he would with a car rental company.
Through a smartphone application, the car is reserved, they are boarded in the parking lots and then returned to the same reserved place. These locations are properly marked by the City with signs that read: “Shared Parking Only”.
At this time the City created an alliance with three companies that offer this service: Zipcar, Getaround and Truqit.
Of course, to rent these cars the user requires a valid driver’s license and a credit card.
“This is a proven way to reduce greenhouse gases and remove more vehicles from our roads. Doubling the size of this program will make it more accessible in more neighborhoods and save people money,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez.
The end result, at least in theory, is that in the future there will be fewer cars on the road, more efficient use of each vehicle unit, and fewer parking spaces needed.
It is also a cheaper alternative to taxis and regular rental cars.
The goal: fewer cars
The announcement of the expansion of these locations to park and rent vehicles temporarily, is based on a pilot plan of 230 centers that already offer this availability of mobility.
According to DOT technical calculations, this system has reduced the desire of many New Yorkers to own their own cars and has also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 7%.
So far, the experience of promoting carsharing in the Big Apple shows that for every shared vehicle available in this service, four personal vehicles were not purchased. And, of course, they stopped adding to the traffic chaos.
The first service of its kind on the streets of New York began in 2018, with 14 areas in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.
This experience allowed us to verify that around 1,140 users, or 7% of the users, sold their cars or chose not to buy a new one.
The 270 new “quick-a-moment” car rental locations will roll out to new neighborhoods across the city. At the same time, the number of locations in the initial pilot areas will be expanded.
Where are they needed more?
Spaces are being installed in new neighborhoods such as the West Village in Manhattan, Kew Gardens Hills in Queens and Bedford Park in the Bronx.
DOT is also improving carpool access with additional spaces in existing serviced neighborhoods, such as East Harlem in Manhattan; Jackson Heights in Queens; Williamsburg and East Williamsburg in Brooklyn; and Parkchester in the Bronx.
Carpooling corporations have identified new locations based on customer demand and other data.
The installation of the new spaces must meet technical criteria to ensure that the program reaches underserved New Yorkers in equity areas, defined as Tier 1 Priority Investment Zones (PIAs), in the New York City street plan. York.
According to a Hunter College report, while car ownership rates in Manhattan, western Brooklyn and western Queens are low, the populations living within these neighborhoods who do own cars generally use them every day. days. In many cases, only for weekend trips. Which makes the car sharing option “especially useful”.
On the contrary, this scholarly report highlights that the highest demand for car ownership for everyday purposes is highest in “transit deserts” such as eastern Queens and Brooklyn and areas of the Bronx, also associated with high rates of poverty.
“Despite the high costs associated with owning a car, the populations living in these locations have the highest rates of car ownership in all of New York City,” the research concludes.
In its trial phase, DOT brought car sharing to 14 low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across the city, including Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem, Parkchester, Red Hook, Jamaica, and the Rockaways. Many of these neighborhoods have seen the highest ridership rates.
In this sense, the interpretation of Felicia Park-Rogers, director of infrastructure projects for the Tri-State Transportation organization, is that this transportation alternative equitably expands access to New Yorkers for the occasional use of a car for really necessary trips. .
“At the same time, the number of miles traveled by vehicles, which are critical for the environment, is being reduced,” he reasoned.
A complement to move
For his part, Sy Fahimi, Chief Operating Officer of Getaround, one of the three companies operating car-sharing technology and logistics, notes that it is a way to free thousands of residents and visitors from car-sharing property. A car.
“Through instant and convenient access to desirable, safe and affordable cars, our contactless and connected platform will not only provide a convenient and affordable transportation option, but also complement other modes of transportation in the city,” the spokesperson said. of this company that operates in 850 cities around the world.
Likewise, the spokesman for the Zipcar company, which also offers this alternative, assures that they contribute to New Yorkers having a simple and responsible urban life by reducing the ownership of personal cars.
“We will be adding more electric vehicles and this will have a genuine environmental impact by reducing carbon emissions,” said Angelo Adams, director of Zipcar.
The hard thing about owning a car in NYC
Brooklyn-based Leo Tineo knows exactly what it means to drive in the Big Apple. Much of his routine, he lives in a block, or looking for a place to park, because he works driving a truck. Also, he has his own vehicle from him.
“Almost every week I have to pay fines, because there are more and more cars and fewer parking spaces. !It’s awful!” , he commented he a few steps from Broadway Avenue with 136th Street and Broadway Avenue in Upper Manhattan. Precisely, in a town where in some cross streets, getting a parking lot is a “tragedy”. In fact, in some cases, vehicles are seen occupying the sidewalks.
“It’s round and round. Hours and hours. The truth is that now there are more cars in the city and I do not feel that there are measures to reduce them, ”she asserted.
The Dominican taxi driver, José Pereda, a resident of Harlem, doubts that these measures to promote the use of bicycles and rental cars are aimed at alleviating the chaos in the Big Apple.
“I don’t have the solution. And no one has it. I know of few people who use this service. But I also know that those of us who have cars like me are occupying spaces that were where we used to stop. And we are not going to stop having it, or selling it, because it is our way of surviving,” the islander asserted.
On the other hand, the Puerto Rican teacher María Casas, 48, assures that “eventually” it is a cheaper option than taking a taxi.
“Yes, I have rented cars with these applications, a couple of times. But it works for very punctual laps. The ideal is that we have a modern and safe Subway system ”he considered.
Where do they work?
Information on the precise locations of the sites to be installed can be found on the DOT website. The Mayor’s Office does extensive outreach, receiving feedback from community boards and making necessary adjustments. Once all the sites are installed, an updated map of the locations will be available here: nyc.gov/carshare
DOT: Fewer private cars on the street
- 30% of the user membership of this transportation system are African Americans and Latinos.
- 160,000 trips were made by carpool users during the period of the trial program, with an average of 24 trips per month for each parking lot enabled for this service.
- 1 available intra-city carpool means four personal vehicles were neither bought nor sold, according to DOT data.
- 1,140 users, or 7% of program participants, sold their cars or chose not to buy a new one.
- 38.7 million annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) were reduced, resulting in a net annual reduction of ~12,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year.