Low cost, electric car-share program to come to Conway Homes

Conway Homes residents will have the opportunity to test a new electric car-share program to add clean, affordable transportation to jobs, schools, healthcare, grocery stores and other essentials.

The San Joaquin Council of Governments and the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin came out to Conway Homes on Thursday, Aug. 25 to give residents the opportunity to sign up to test the low-cost Míocar car-share program piloted by the Stockton Mobility Collective.

“Here in south Stockton, transportation is a huge barrier,” Christine Corrales, senior regional planner at SJCOG and project manager for Stockton Mobility Collective said. “We’re really trying to focus on that equity bottom line by making sure that the program serves those who really need it … not a lot of folks who have limited income have access to their own private vehicle and sometimes transit (bus) service is just not the right option.”

At $4 an hour after a one-time $20 membership fee, Conway Homes residents will be able to use one of three electric Nissan Leafs. The vehicles are available for an entire day at $35 on weekdays and $45 on weekends for up to 150 miles and 35 cents a mile afterward.

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“If you need to go to a doctor’s appointment in the Bay Area, you’re not going to be able to hop on a bus and easily get there,” Corrales said. “This is another option for residents to really help bridge that transportation gap out here.”

Residents can use the Míocar mobile app for payment and to serve as their car key, but the plan is to house the car-share program on the Vamos Mobility app, a product of the Stockton Mobility Collective.

“The Vamos Mobility app is basically a one stop shop for transit in San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County,” Jay Halva, assistant planner at SJCOG said. “You can plan your trips and buy tickets on different transit operators. It looks a lot like Uber … When you’re looking at places to go it will say, ‘This car-share station is close to me.’”

There are 75 slots available to test the Conway Homes Míocar carshare program. For those who did not make it to the Aug. 25 event, information is available at miocar.org.

Conway Homes received the pilot carshare program, but by early 2023 when the program is expected to be fully implemented, carshares will also be available at Sierra Vista, Crossways Residences, Victory Gardens and other disadvantaged communities in the region.

Funding for the Stockton Mobility Collective comes from a Sustainable Transportation Equity Project grant from the California Air Resources Board. The project is a part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars back into disadvantaged communities reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment.

U.S. Rep. Josh Harder and SJ County Supervisor Tom Patti — who will face off in November to represent the redrawn 9th Congressional District — were both in attendance at the event.

Patti, a former SJCOG board member, said in the 1980s his father would take him and amateur boxers from Conway Homes to baseball games in San Francisco. He said some of them had never left Stockton.

"They were often times stuck in a small cocoon," Patti said, "but this program is going to open up doors and possibilities for a lot of kids to do a lot of things, and their families to have access to go for medical care, to get groceries and a variety of things."

Harder, who has a 5-month-old baby daughter at home, said he was pleased to see a car seat fits comfortably in the Míocar carshare cars.

"I've spoken to so many folks in Conway and in Stockton who don't always have the transportation they need to go to the grocery store or even to their job. That can be a huge barrier for folks to live a life of dignity that they deserve," Harder said. "It's going to be a pro-family, pro-technology effort for people and families in this area ... (Conway) is a community that's going to be leading the future across our community."

Record reporter Ben Irwin covers Stockton and San Joaquin County government. He can be reached at birwin@recordnet.com or on Twitter @B1rwin. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Low cost, electric car-share program to come to Conway Homes