Evaluation Results of San Francisco Bay Area Station-Car Demonstration

Abstract

Presented is a summary of the evaluation of the first 2.5 years (November 1995–March 1998) of the San Francisco Bay Area Station-Car Demonstration. The 40 station cars were small battery-powered electric cars used for access to and egress from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District stations and for other local trips. The demonstration was a preliminary test of a larger vision for solving several problems associated with line-haul mass transit. Its purpose was to determine the viability of electric vehicles for short, everyday trips in a variety of settings: between home and a station; between a station and a work site; and as pool cars used at work sites. Other short trips were encouraged during the workday or during evenings and weekends when the cars were at participants’ homes. The participants and their opinions of the concept before entering and during the demonstration are described. Modal shifts, air emission benefits, energy impact, and many nonquantifiable effects are presented. A “10,000 station car” scenario based on data from the demonstration is presented to show the impact of a larger station-car deployment. Many of the lessons learned from the experiment are presented with the overall conclusions.