For the 195 households in Tracy Homes public housing, clean and affordable mobility is right in their backyard. Thanks to the Clean Mobility Options (CMO) program, the parking lot at Tracy Homes now has four new electric rideshare vehicles, and five charging units and stations.

The Stockton EV Car Share Program spans three locations in the City of Stockton and the greater San Joaquin region, including Tracy. It offers low-cost hourly and daily rentals for low-income residents, facilitating travel to medical appointments, errands, family visits, and more. This program is a collaboration between the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) and the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin to expand upon SJCOG’s Stockton Mobility Collective. 

Sandy Paban, a consultant with the housing authority, told the Tracy Press that high demand demonstrated the need to expand the program. “In one year the program has 118,000 miles that people have rented the cars for, so we’ve had to expand because usage has been so crazy,” she said.

Free Rides Around National City (FRANC)

The City of National City has used Clean Mobility Options (CMO) funding to introduce its first zero-emission no-cost shuttle program, FRANC. With two neighborhood electric vehicles, FRANC’s service seamlessly connects commuters and serves as a first/last-mile solution to the existing transit hub.

Pedro Garcia, Economic Development Manager for National City, is excited about the combination of economic, environmental, and mobility benefits to the community from this CMO project. He says, “It was a great opportunity to work with the state and local stakeholders to find all the funding that we need to make sure that we can provide good transportation options for our community and also try to improve the quality of life and the environment in the City of National City.”

Redding Bikeshare

About Clean Mobility Options

CMO is a statewide initiative that provides funding for zero-emission shared mobility options to under-resourced communities. CMO is available throughout California to all disadvantaged and low-income communities, with a guaranteed set-aside for tribal governments to increase access to safe, reliable, convenient, and affordable transportation options.

Clean Mobility Options is funded by California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment, and California Energy Commission’s Clean Transportation Program, which is investing more than $1 billion to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission transportation infrastructure and support in-state manufacturing and workforce training and development.

CivicWell serves on the CMO Statewide Administrator team selected by the California Air Resources Board, along with CALSTART and the Shared-Use Mobility Center.

Communities and Tribes Awarded $1.2 Million to Assess Transportation Needs

Twelve California nonprofits, local governments, transit agencies, and Tribes in under-resourced communities were recently awarded up to $100,000 each to conduct Community Transportation Needs Assessments that will help them evaluate transportation gaps and identify their residents’ mobility challenges, needs, preferences, and priorities.

“Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color shoulder the burden of having an overconcentration of pollution while also dealing with historic disinvestment that limits their mobility options,” said CARB Executive Officer Dr. Steven Cliff. “The goal of this effort is to tackle the lack of transportation options with tools that empower residents to advocate for change, while also building the clean mobility infrastructure that will make sure no one is left behind in a zero-emissions future.”

This recent award was the second round of funding for Community Transportation Needs Assessments. The first round of funding, in 2020, saw $1.2 million awarded to 24 communities for needs assessments and $20 million granted to 20 communities for Mobility Project Vouchers.

What’s Next for Clean Mobility Options?

This summer will see the kickoff of the next round of Mobility Projects, bringing innovative and sustainable transportation options to 17 additional communities.

CMO will also host the second annual Clean Mobility Forum this fall, continuing the momentum from 2023’s vibrant and successful inaugural event.

See more stories of how CMO projects have impacted communities across the state.

Board Highlight

Yasmine-Imani McMorrin Selected to Join Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety

The Mayors Innovation Project in partnership with AARP Livable Communities and Smart Growth America, has selected 10 mayors from a national competitive application pool to join the second annual Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety. One of the mayors selected is Culver City Mayor and CivicWell Board Member Yasmine-Imani McMorrin.

The Mayors Institute on Pedestrian Safety aims to help mayors develop the knowledge and skills to better champion safer communities for people of all ages. Participating mayors receive training and resources from top experts in the field, enabling them to make immediate safety improvements on their most dangerous streets.

Read the full article in Culver City Crossroads.

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Header photo from San Joaquin Council of Governments