New California cap-and-trade grants back electric bikes in Redding, car-sharing in Los Angeles

California today is awarding a batch of grants totaling $20 million to promote zero-emission transit in under-resourced and disadvantaged communities throughout the state.

The money, from the state’s cap-and-trade fund, can be used for shared mobility projects such as carpooling, ride-on-demand services, bike sharing and scooter sharing, electric vehicle car sharing and transit services.

The funds for the so-called Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program comes from California Climate Investments, which distributes money raised through cap-and-trade auctions. It’s awarding up to $1 million each to 21 nonprofits, local governments, transit agencies and Native American tribal governments.

“This program directly supports disadvantaged communities and communities of color from across the state, creating safe, clean, affordable and accessible options for getting residents where they need to go,” said Ava Yaghoobirad, who is leading the program.

Program recipients are located across the state including in Sacramento, Stockton, Redding, Oakland, Richmond, Riverside and Los Angeles.

One goal for the program is to introduce more clean and zero-emission vehicles to disadvantaged communities in order to mitigate the disproportionate exposure that these neighborhoods have to unhealthy air. The projects are also designed to support the mobility needs of people in disadvantaged communities.

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles works with low-income households to supply quality affordable housing, and was awarded $1 million to create an electric vehicle lending library.

“Our hope is that this is a significant barrier removal, which will allow these households to seek out and sustain employment,” said Jenny Scanlin, the chief development officer for the housing authority.

By creating an inventory of electric vehicles that can be lent out to individuals for commuting to jobs or school, Scanlin said they believe the program will widen the range of jobs to which people can apply and encourage others to go back to school.

“There should be equal access to sustainable and resilient opportunities for those who are low income,” Scanlin said. “Part of it is getting rid of some of those psychological barriers that I think people have to assuming that they can’t afford or participate in a sustainable economy.”

The program requires recipients to survey residents about their needs.

In Redding, The McConnell Foundation and Shasta Living Streets found that residents lacked mobility options because of limited bus service, and those who wanted bikes were concerned about them being stolen or needing expensive repairs.

“It’s really obvious to us right from the start that making downtown more viable and walkable is key to having a thriving downtown,” said Rachel Hatch, senior program officer for community vitality of The McConnell Foundation.

As a result, The McConnell Foundation and Shasta Living Streets were awarded $1 million for a downtown electric bike-share program. The funding will help purchase 70 electric bicycles to be spread throughout downtown and near low-income housing units.

“It’s about serving people and ensuring they have more mobility options,” Hatch said. “But that climate piece is important to all of us as well.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM.