Carsharing in Santa Barbara
The attached Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by the County of Santa Barbara to provide a carsharing program for the community of Isla Vista in Santa Barbara County. The RFP is part of a larger master plan being implemented by the City to develop an effective, efficient multimodal transportation system. This RFP includes:
- Description of the city's Master Plan
- A demographic analysis of the City and UC Santa Barbara (a major factor in any carsharing organizations market analysis)
- Parking stock and demand
- Characteristics of the neighborhood, including transit use and community involvement
- Scope of the proposed program
- Proposal rules and format for completing the submission process
- Selection process outline
- Important dates
Other communities can use this as a model for developing their own RFP for carsharing. Surprisingly, the document contains no explicit discussion of sustainability. However, the RFP ensures that many elements that promote sustainability are addressed.
Carsharing encourages and supports walkable communities and transit. It shares the cost of car ownership and maintenance across many users. Car share vehicles are typically energy efficient, keeping CO2 emissions to a minimum.
The ability or potential of a physical body to do work. The most common forms of energy are heat, light, mechanical (moving parts), and electrical.
