City Council Votes To Move Forward With Car Sharing
Manzella: Goal Is To Launch Electric Vehicle Program By Summer 2018
The Asbury Park City Council approved moving forward with the establishment of an electric car share program Wednesday.
Transportation Manager Michael Manzella has said the vehicles would be available to rent for an hour or up to a day. And like the bicycle share program, the city would be the first to offer the service along the Jersey Shore.
The goal will be to launch the program by summer 2018.
One of two seperate approvals authorized a $20,000 application for a Sustainable Jersey grant, City Manager Michael Capabianco said. The grant will help cover costs for five dual port [Level II] electrical car charging stations.
A separate resolution approved a vendor search to install and manage the program, at no cost to 
the city.
According to the resolution, the city would enter into a revenue sharing agreement of no less than 5 percent once the program becomes profitable.
The environmental returns on investment [ROIs] would be cleaner air and helping to improve the city’s standing with Sustainable New Jersey, Manzella has said. The economic ROIs would be a reduction in parking demand.
“It’s just a more efficient mode of transportation,” he said. “It’s an attractive amenity for the city to have. The goal here is not to have everyone get rid of their cars but to [let] residents have the option to not have a car.”
In terms of equity, Manzella has said close to one-third of all Asbury households are zero-car households.
“The idea is to improve accessibility for people to get to doctor’s appointments, grocery store trips, things like that,” Manzella said.
The shared economy model, which has grown form music to housing and cars, has changed the way people view travel, ownership and consumption, Manzella said.
“Ownership is becoming less and less of a priority, especially among the younger generations,” Manzella said “They are much more likely to share resources; and cars are definitely a piece of that.”
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