TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2008

Doris W. Kahn Accessible Transportation Award:
Making a Good Thing Better, With Carsharing Access for All

Leave it to the city of Berkeley, birthplace of the independent-living movement, to take a good idea like car sharing and make it even better by adapting it for wheelchair users. The AccessMobile, a shared accessible van that can be rented by the hour, became available to the public in April 2008.

In 2004, Berkeley latched on to the benefits of car sharing and retired 10 city fleet cars in favor of vehicles operated by City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit that provides convenient, affordable, short-term rental cars as an alternative to car ownership. After business hours, the city makes its car-share fleet — now six vehicles — available to all members of City CarShare.

When the city won $25,000 in the National Organization on Disability’s Accessible America contest in 2007, City CarShare matched the funds. The nonprofit brainstormed with the city and its Commission on Disability, and together they came up with the notion of a van that would benefit both disabled and nondisabled members.

Participants in the Access Program can use the AccessMobile during business hours, and during off hours, it is available to all City CarShare members. A first for City CarShare’s fleet, the van can accommodate up to two wheelchairs and four additional people, and requires only a friend or family member willing to drive.

On average, the van is used twice a day by the 30 participants in the Access Program. Participant Danny Kodmur needs the van for shopping in places not along a transit route and carrying large packages home. “The AccessMobile is an affordable resource to an underserved population,” Kodmur said.

Program expansion depends on demand and funding, but if past is prologue, Berkeley will find a way. At an average cost of $8.50 an hour, the AccessMobile is a green and accessible innovation by City CarShare and the city of Berkeley, which share this year’s Doris Kahn Accessible Transportation Award.

— Pam Grove

See VIDEO: AccessMobile

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Contents

• 2008 Transportation Awards: Excellence in Motion
• Grand Award: MacArthur Maze Miracle — Turning Disaster Into Triumph
• Special Awards
  • John F. Foran Legislative Award: Congressman Tom Lantos
  • David Tannehill Special Employee Award: Meet Deanna Vilcheck, an Engineer Who Can Juggle
  • Greta Ericson Distinguished Service Award: Finding Middle Ground Drives Jean Hart to the Top
  • Miriam Gholikely Public Service Award: AC Transit Employees Catch the Spirit of the Drive
  • Doris W. Kahn Accessible Transportation Award: Making a Good Thing Better, With Carsharing Access for All
• Merit Awards
  • Safeway Delivers a Cleaner Environment With Biodiesel Trucks
  • Stanford University Gets an “A” for Commute Alternatives
  • VTA Bus Route Overhaul Helps Riders Find Way to San Jose — and Beyond
  • Take a Shuttle to the Redwoods, and Leave Parking Hassles Behind
  • Fannie Mae Barnes: Carrying the Torch for Women as First and Only Female Cable Car Grip