Bradley Has Ride-Share Plan for City Workers

In an effort to set an example for downtown businesses, Mayor Tom Bradley on Thursday proposed an aggressive ride-sharing plan for the 7,500 Los Angeles municipal employees who work in the Civic Center.

Bradley said his “Fast Track” ride-sharing plan, which requires City Council approval, would cost at least $250,000 to implement. Additional costs would come later, when the city would either buy or lease commuter vans that in turn would be leased to ride-sharing groups, Bradley said.

Noting that about 200 city employees now participate in van pools, officials said they are unsure how many more might be willing to take part in an expanded program. But they expect that certain incentives, like free Civic Center parking versus a fivefold increase in parking fees for those who drive to work alone, could lead to at least 30% participation.

The development of a ride-sharing effort for city employees was part of the nine-point traffic congestion-busting strategy that Bradley unveiled last year. The strategy also includes proposed stiffer parking fines and a rush-hour ban on truck deliveries.

In addition to Bradley’s ride-sharing proposal, the South Coast Air Quality Management District several months ago voted to require employers of at least 500 workers to develop ride-sharing plans and incentives to break motorists of their solitary commuting habits. Failure to file a plan within 90 days after the program begins July 1 could expose employers to a $25,000-a-day fine.

In subsequent years, the AQMD order will be extended to employers of 200 or more workers, and later to employeers of 100 workers.

Noting the AQMD order in a letter to the City Council, Bradley said that “beyond these legal requirements to act, there are other important reasons for us to pursue expanded employee commuter services--it is cost-effective and reduces commute-related stress for city employees, it reduces traffic congestion and air pollution, and it will free up parking places for citizens who need to avail themselves of city services.”

James Lentz, AQMD executive officer, said that Los Angeles is the first city among 165 in the district’s four-county jurisdiction to take an aggressive approach to promote ride sharing.

Lentz said that a number of cities “expect to have exemptions and they expect somehow that the rules not apply to them.

“(The city ride-sharing) effort is going to have a much bigger impact on ride sharing in the area than just on the city,” Lentz said.

Bradley said that all 34 city departments will participate in the effort to get employees to either car-pool or van-pool. Participating employees may be eligible for flexible work schedules and, beginning July 1, for preferential parking spaces and free parking. After July 1, parking rates for those who commute alone will jump from $5 to $25 a month.