City CarShare Introduces Electric Vehicle Charging Stations for Its Members at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium

To support San Francisco’s goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2025*, City CarShare, in partnership with the San Francisco Department of the Environment and San Francisco Recreation and Park, is introducing five electric vehicle charging stations for custom long range Toyota Prius plug-in and Ford C-Max Energi plug-in vehicles available to City CarShare members at Kezar Stadium, located in the historic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. This popular location has housed five City CarShare vehicles since 2002, and will now include a total of eight parking spaces to serve City CarShare’s members.

To achieve a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, the city of San Francisco has set the goal of having 50 percent of all trips in the city made by sustainable modes, such as taking public transit, walking, biking, driving zero emission vehicles and carsharing. City CarShare is helping San Francisco achieve this goal by keeping overall car ownership low and by providing a cleaner way for residents to get around when they use carsharing. As the greenest carsharing fleet in the nation, City CarShare has already avoided 292 million pounds of CO2 from going into the atmosphere and will continue to contribute to San Francisco’s goal to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2025.

“City CarShare’s use of these newly installed charging stations at Kezar Stadium will support our goal to provide the greenest, most affordable alternative to car ownership in the Bay Area,” said City CarShare CEO Rick Hutchinson. “We are on pace to reduce C02 emissions in the Bay Area by 90 million pounds in 2014.”

The San Francisco Department of the Environment coordinated the planning and installation of the chargers, with support of grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission and charging equipment donated to the city by Google.

“Under Mayor Lee’s leadership, San Francisco has become a central hub for the electric vehicle market,” said Melanie Nutter, Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. “The newly installed chargers at Kezar Stadium are making electric vehicles available to a wider audience through City CarShare. The continued adoption of electric vehicle infrastructure is key to helping meet our City’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

San Francisco Recreation and Park will accept responsibility for the ownership, maintenance and operation of the electric vehicle charging stations for the first 12 months of operation.

"SF Rec and Park is pleased to add these two new chargers to our system, bringing our total EV chargers to 29," said Phil Ginsburg, SF Rec and Park General Manager. "We are proud of this partnership."

Recently, City CarShare announced that it had achieved its goal of having more than 50 percent of its fleet comprised of electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles – a goal met more than a year ahead of schedule. This makes City CarShare the greenest diversified carshare fleet in the country.

This project was made possible by City CarShare through a grant from the Reformulated Gasoline Settlement Fund, in conjunction with the Bay Area Clean Air Foundation (BACAF) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). Created as a result of an antitrust class action, the purpose of the fund is to achieve clean air and fuel efficiency benefits for California consumers. Additional funding was provided by the Bay Area Clean Air Foundation (BACAF) and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

About City CarShare

City CarShare is a Bay Area nonprofit that provides convenient, affordable access to shared cars in order to reduce individual car ownership and usage. City CarShare’s goals are to remove 20,000 cars from the road by 2020; convert half of the fleet to all-electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid by 2015; and save the Bay Area $1 billion over the costs of owning a car by 2020. With a mission to improve the environment and quality of life in our cities, City CarShare makes its service convenient, reliable and affordable so that people will prefer using City CarShare to owning their own car. In doing so, City CarShare members are reducing traffic, parking problems, and dependence on oil–while promoting cleaner air, quieter streets, and more open space. City CarShare saves its members an average of $8,400 a year each over the costs of car ownership and upkeep.

For more information visit www.citycarshare.org. Follow City CarShare on Facebook and Twitter.

About San Francisco Department of the Environment

The San Francisco Department of the Environment (SFE) creates visionary policies and innovative programs that promote social equity, protect human health and lead the way toward a sustainable future. SF Environment puts its mission into action by mobilizing communities and providing the resources needed to safeguard San Francisco and ultimately, the planet.

About San Francisco Recreation and Park

The San Francisco Recreation and Park department, overseen by the Recreation and Park Commission, administers more than 220 parks, playgrounds, and open spaces, including two outside the city limits. The system includes 25 recreation centers, nine swimming pools, five golf courses and numerous tennis courts, ball diamonds, soccer fields and other sports venues. Included in the department’s responsibilities are the Marina Yacht Harbor, Candlestick Park, the San Francisco Zoo, and the Lake Merced Complex.

*Based upon 1990 levels

Media Please Note:

For further details about City CarShare or to schedule an interview, please contact Hilary Burns at Landis Communications, Inc., Hilary@landispr.com, (415) 561-0888. Images and video are available to download at https://www.citycarshare.org/press/multimedia/.