City Council panel backs car-sharing parking plan

A plan to set aside city parking stalls for car-sharing vehicles has won a preliminary approval from the Hono­lulu City Council Budget Committee.

Car sharing, which typically involves motorists renting cars or trucks by the hour or even by the minute, is gaining popularity in mainland cities, and at least two companies are operating short-term rental programs on Oahu.

The concept is embraced by environmental groups that see it as one way to reduce the number of cars on the road.

Introduced by former Councilman Breene Hari­moto, Bill 65 calls for the city to charge fees so that it can be compensated for lost parking revenues as well as parking decals that would be provided to car-sharing organizations.

Deputy Transportation Services Director Mark Garrity said there are two basic car-sharing models. One is based on dedicated parking spaces in which cars are tied to specified stalls and locations.

"You know exactly where that car is going to be" when deciding to make a reservation for it, he said. "You go use it, and you bring it back to that spot."

The bill calls for annual stall fees of up to $3,000 each, depending on location.

The other model, dubbed "free-floating" or a "one-way rental," allows a rental company to park cars throughout a jurisdiction, with customers using a smart-device application to locate available vehicles.

Car-sharing vehicles are typically fixed with decals "so that if they do end up in a metered spot, the user doesn’t actually have to pay the meter," Garrity said.

Transportation Services Director Michael Formby said, "The power that we have, really, is to decide where on-street parking is appropriate, and we have to make sure that there is capacity for it as well as demand." 

Kakaako resident Aaron Landry said he has embraced car sharing and is a member of one of the programs now in place on Oahu. The concept might allow some families to own fewer vehicles or even go car-free, he said.

"This is something that we should definitely be striving for," he said.

Representatives for Enterprise CarShare, which began offering short-term rentals to university students on Oahu in 2012, and new entry Car2Go testified in support of the bill, which was approved by the Council Budget Committee on Wednesday with a unanimous vote. Also submitting testimony in support of the bill were environmental advocacy groups Blue Planet Foundation and Hono­lulu Clean Cities.