{"id":2389,"date":"2014-05-22T04:58:35","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T08:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com\/blog\/?p=2389"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:52:59","slug":"san-francisco-sfmta-gives-car-sharing-companies-more-parking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingpermit.com/blog\/san-francisco-sfmta-gives-car-sharing-companies-more-parking\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco may give more parking spots to car sharing companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to car sharing companies, one key bottleneck in car sharing gaining momentum is the lack of parking spaces<\/a>. Now, to help them ease into the city, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is set to approve fifty on-street car-share parking spots<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt opens up a lot more of the city to car-sharing,\u201d says<\/a> SFTMTA director Ed Reiskin. \u201cGenerally, on-street parking will always be here.\u201d The move comes on the heels of SFMTA\u2019s successful pilot of 12 on-street car-share parking spots.<\/p>\n

How it works<\/h2>\n

Eventually, .3% of the city\u2019s on-street parking spots<\/a>, or 900 spaces, will be assigned to car sharers. Currently, the program is limited to car sharing companies like City Car Share, Zipcar, and peer-to-peer ones like RelayRides.<\/p>\n

One-way car share companies like Car2go are not eligible. \u201cWe have some concerns that it could actually work in the other direction \u2014 that one-way [car-sharing] could actually encourage more driving,\u201d says<\/a> Reiskin.<\/p>\n

The SFMTA aims to have 450 on-street parking spots<\/a> available for car sharing companies by summer. It is keen to encourage car sharing as it believes that car sharing reduces vehicle ownership.<\/p>\n

\"Car

A car sharing spot in San Francisco. Image by sfcityscape<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

According to a 2010 study cited by the SFMTA<\/a>, a shared car replaces up to 13 private vehicles. \u00a0Some people choose not to buy cars, others (who seldom drive) give up their cars or their second cars after car sharing.<\/p>\n

Other benefits include a reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). According to one estimate, a shared car could lead to 18,000 fewer VMT annually. So the SFMTA is hoping that by giving parking sports on the street to car sharers, more people will become aware of this option.<\/p>\n

On-street parking sports for car sharers will also be more convenient. Currently, car shares have to park off-street.<\/p>\n

Dissenters<\/h2>\n

Still, not everyone is happy with the move. Some people with spots next to proposed car-sharing spaces feel that \u201ctheir\u201d parking is being taken away. The SFMTA\u2019s piloting the initiative for two years<\/a>, so it may tweak the program as it gets more data on how popular it is becoming.<\/p>\n

Car sharing companies are exempted from parking fees in Washington DC, as we covered in an earlier post<\/a>.\u00a0 The SFMTA will charge a monthly fee<\/a> from car sharing companies, depending on the zone in which it is providing on-street car-sharing parking spots.<\/p>\n

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