Mocean expands LA carsharing in the San Fernando Valley

Carshare options continue to expand in Los Angeles County with the launch of Mocean Carshare in the San Fernando Valley.

The expansion of the service was carried out in coordination with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), which has strived to create a rich mix of public transportation, private transportation providers like rental bicycles and scooters, and shared mobility in the form of rent. – carpools per minute.

Mocean will locate its operation in the San Fernando Valley at the Warner Center, the city’s premier transportation technology innovation zone. Carsharing is operated by MoceanLab, an initiative of Hyundai Motor Group and will operate as part of the Los Angeles Fixed Space and Free Carsharing pilot programs.

“The program is designed to explore potential new mobility options for LA residents,” said Colin Sweeney, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, adding that the city is helping manage the program and ensuring that operators respect the rules and regulations of the department.

“LADOT supports such programs to provide residents with a wider range of mobility options while establishing regulations to protect the quality of life in the neighborhood,” Sweeney said in an email.

Mocean has operated around 100 cars in four areas – downtown, the Eagle Rock neighborhood, Brentwood and West LA – and now the San Fernando Valley. The cars in service are Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niros electric hybrids.

The San Fernando Valley was chosen as the area for expansion, in part because of the relatively high density of housing and jobs in the area and the ability to connect to public transportation.

“The mix of families, young professionals and students in the area makes this a prime location to provide alternatives to traditional car ownership for those looking for an additional domestic vehicle or for those who simply live in Los Angeles. without owning their own car. ” noted Dave Gallon, COO of MoceanLab.

Cars are accessible through a mobile phone app, much like bicycles and scooters. Drivers locate them in a “residential area” and return the car to the residential area to which it was originally rented or to another area of ​​the system. The cost of using the cars is $ 0.42 per minute, $ 14 per hour, or $ 86 per day.

The program is reminiscent of a similar operation started in Sacramento two years ago. This program, known as GIG, began with 250 fully electric vehicles. Cars are also priced at $ 0.49 per minute or $ 16.99 per hour. GIG, an AAA company, also operates in the Bay Area and Seattle.

Carpooling operations, such as micromobility providers in the form of bicycles and scooters, are part of the modern evolution of urban mobility. As such, transport officials have recognized that they must be part of the entire transport ecosystem if cities are to effectively reduce individual car trips and extend mobility options to a wider section of the city. the community.

Transit agencies should see themselves as not just in the “service delivery business,” Seleta Reynolds, CEO of LADOT, said at the CoMotion MIAMI conference earlier this summer.

Reynolds argued that they should see themselves as part of the “global market for the provision of mobility”.

“And that means you don’t just think of traditional public transit. You start to invite things like EV carsharing; things like bicycles and dockless scooters; things like municipal bicycle sharing; things like microtransport. And you experience these things for yourself and you learn as you go, ”she added.

Mocean Carshare is participating in LADOT’s floating carpooling pilot project, Gallon said.

“It is through this partnership that we are able to offer amenities such as free parking at any parking lot in the city of LA,” he added.

In addition, Mocean is providing vehicles for the city’s new mobile crisis response program, which uses outreach workers and behavioral health clinicians to respond to non-emergency calls regarding homelessness and ‘other problems.