City CarShare, a nonprofit car-sharing organization based in San Francisco, will expand its car-sharing network to underserved East Bay communities in collaboration with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and the Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC).

Called CarShare4All, this program will deploy vehicles in Richmond, El Cerrito and Oakland, and includes electric vehicles, fuel-efficient hybrids and a wheelchair accessible van, according to the company. The program is partially funded through a $973,864 grant, which was awarded Wednesday Dec. 18 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

“The ongoing support of the MTC has enabled City CarShare to provide the most diverse and greenest fleet available to underserved communities,” said Rick Hutchinson, CEO of City CarShare. “This award will help us and our partners provide electric vehicles, new solar-charging technology, and our AccessMobile (wheelchair van) program to neighborhoods that deserve a lot more attention than they’ve previously received.”

City CarShare serves nearly 16,000 members in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over 60% of its locations are in designated low/moderate income neighborhoods, says the company.

"Car sharing is a very important part of our strategy to provide transportation options," said Kevin Romick, Chair of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA). "This project with City CarShare and the Bay Area Climate Collaborative provides critical links to and from public transit, which provides multi-modal travel choices for Contra Costa residents."