Item - 2020.IE12.7

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize that the Free-Floating Car-Share Pilot be made a permanent program starting May 1, 2020.

2. City Council move the Free-Floating Car-Share requirements from City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 950, Traffic and Parking, to City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, effective May 1, 2020.

3. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, to create a fee for the Free Floating Car-Share permit of $1,565.90 per year, per car-share vehicle, effective May 1, 2020, adjusted yearly for inflation.

4. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, to create a re-issuance fee of $34.13 per permit, effective May 1, 2020, adjusted yearly for inflation.

5. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, to establish a new offence for parking any vehicle with a free-floating car-share permit for more than 72 hours in a permit parking area/street and establish an associated penalty amount of $30.00, with an implementation date of May 1, 2020.

6. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, to insert a definition for "free-floating car-share waitlisted area" and for "free-floating car-share waitlisted street", to establish a new offence for parking any vehicle with a free-floating car-share permit in a permit parking waitlisted area/street, and establish an associated penalty amount of $30.00, with an implementation date of May 1, 2020.

7. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, to establish an offence for failing to clearly display the free-floating car-share parking permit in the lower inside of the windshield on the driver's side of the car-share vehicle, and establish an associated penalty amount of $30.00, with an implementation date of May 1, 2020.

8. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 950, Traffic and Parking, including the associated Schedules, to change the prohibition from parking or standing of an unauthorized vehicle in a designated car-share vehicle parking area (CVPA)(§950-400H) to prohibit the standing of an unauthorized vehicle in a CVPA.

9. City Council amend Attachment 1 by replacing all references to “48 hours” or slight variations thereof, “48 consecutive hours”, or “two (2) consecutive days” with "72 hours" or slight variations thereof or "72 consecutive hours" as the context requires.

10. City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 610, Penalties, Administration of, City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 925, Permit Parking, and City of Toronto Municipal Code 950, Traffic and Parking, generally as outlined in Attachment 1 to the report (February 26, 2019) from the General Manager, Transportation Services, and as amended by Recommendation 9 above.

11. City Council direct that as a condition of permit no more than two car-share vehicles from the same company be allowed to park on a street block.

12. City Council define "Clustering” as more than two car-share vehicles from the same car-share organization/company being parked on the same City street block for any length of time.

13. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, to report back to Infrastructure and Environment Committee if more than 2 car-share organizations/companies apply for free-floating car-share permits. 

14. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to introduce the necessary bills to give effect to City Council's decision in items 1 to 13 above, inclusive, and City Council authorize the City Solicitor to make any necessary clarifications, refinements, minor modifications, technical amendments, or by-law amendments as may be identified by the City Solicitor or General Manager, Transportation Services, in order to give effect to the reasonable operation of the Free-Floating Car-Share Program.

15. City Council request Toronto Parking Authority to explore business arrangements with car share companies that would allow car share companies to utilize municipal parking facilities through the use of permits or other means and that Transportation Services work with Toronto Parking Authority and car share providers to expand the availability of car share parking within residential zones, by the end of 2020.

16. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning in consultation with the General Manager, Transportation Services to further assess how parking for car-share services should be accommodated as part of a broader strategic review of current parking policies and consideration be given to requiring car-share spaces in new developments to have mandatory public access included in the zoning by-law.

17. City Council request the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards to report on the implementation of zoning by-law conditions as they related to providing carshare spaces in new development.

18. City Council forward a copy of the report (February 26, 2020) from the General Manager, Transportation Services to the Toronto Police Services Board to engage the Toronto Police Service to work with Transportation Services in order to implement the new free-floating car-share offences and related system changes into the Parking Enforcement's Electronic Parking System.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the Free-Floating Car-Share Pilot, recommend a way forward and propose changes to improve policies and regulations in the City as they relate to various car-share operating models.

The City of Toronto Official Plan and various policies and programs have long supported the operation of car-sharing services as a sustainable transportation option. Car-sharing programs offer a number of potential benefits to individuals, businesses, the environment, communities, and transportation network, including:

• reduced vehicle ownership rates;

• reduced household transportation costs;

• reduced vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT);

• reduced greenhouse gases and emissions; and

• an increase in walking, cycling, and transit use

Transportation Services currently administers an on-street Car-Share Vehicle Parking Areas (CVPA) program, a program for designating on-street spaces specifically for vehicles displaying a car-share vehicle permit. Currently, there are a total of 41 CVPAs, which include approximately 84 on-street parking spaces designated for exclusive use by car-share vehicles. In Toronto car-sharing facilities are also provided on private property.

Car-sharing is a growing new-mobility industry which is evolving as a result of the growth in the sharing economy enabled by mobile technology. Recognizing the benefits of car-sharing and that an alternative operating model for car-share vehicles in the form of free-floating has worked successfully in other jurisdictions, the City decided to undertake a pilot to explore its merits.

The Free-Floating Car-Share Pilot and Interim Policy enables free-floating car-share vehicles to park in residential permit-parking areas of the city. An eighteen-month pilot began on November 1, 2018 and will end April 30, 2020. Communauto FLEX has been the only car-share company to participate in the pilot.

After an analysis of the car-share vehicles' utilization data provided by Communauto FLEX, an assessment of the complaints received from residents during the pilot and confirmation of compliance with the rules set out in the Interim Free-Floating Policy, Transportation Services has concluded that the pilot has proven to be successful. Based on these findings, Transportation Services is recommending that the Free-Floating Car-Share Pilot become a permanent program at the end of the pilot period, starting May 1, 2020. The following changes will need to be implemented to make it a permanent program:

new Free-Floating Car-Share permit and re-issuance fees to be created;
new offence created for exceeding the 48-hour parking limit, parking in waitlisted areas/streets, and failing to properly display free-floating car-share parking permit;
new administrative penalties associated with the new offences;
enhancements to the On-Street Permit Parking Application (OSPPA) to automate the process to issue free-floating car-share permits; and
integration of the updated OSPPA with the Toronto Police - Parking Enforcement's Electronic Parking System (EPS) to facilitate enforcement of the offences.  
 

In addition to the free-floating program, staff also examined opportunities to improve the existing on-street Car-Share Vehicle Parking Areas (CVPA) program and options to improve off-street car-share availability, including:

More expeditious approvals for CVPA.
A future study with City Planning to assess the current state of car-share services in private developments and undertake a review of when and how to best secure car-share spaces through the Development Review Process.
A commitment from the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) to work with car-share companies to allocate designated areas in certain TPA lots for car-share vehicles to ensure more convenience for customers.