Our transportation system is inefficient. It was designed for cars and trucks that are often only used a small percentage of the day. When they are used it’s often by just one person, yet these vehicles require lots of road space and parking. Cars often aren’t environmentally friendly, are expensive to operate and create traffic, particularly when someone is driving alone. Driving is also dangerous. Nationally, more than 32,000 people were killed on our roadways that year.
Our growing city also means more goods. Deliveries have grown dramatically in the city, yet the way things are delivered hasn’t changed, meaning more delays. Public transit is the backbone of the city, yet it is at capacity during peak periods and most of it is stuck in slow-moving traffic. Building out the bicycle and public transit priority lane networks to provide more reliable, safer, affordable and sustainable travel choices is proceeding, but it’s hard work. Sometimes there is friction. The one-or-the-other push-pull is no longer going to work in a city changing and growing. We need interconnected travel options – and more of them – to get around.
Private Car Ownership
The average car is 80 percent empty when driven and is parked 95 percent of the time. Ownership is expensive. Less than half of all trips are by driving, yet road space is almost entirely prioritized for cars. This represents an incredibly inefficient use of resources and makes it difficult for those who can’t afford or can't drive to access the city.
Traffic Burden
Driving is inherently dangerous. Thirty-one people were victims of traffic fatalities and dozens injured in San Francisco in 2015.The city was rated the third worst city for traffic in the U.S. Muni, the public transit system, is one of the slowest in the nation averaging 8.8 mph because buses often have to contend with car traffic.. Delivery vehicles are oversized for the small neighborhood needs and add to congestion in busy centers during peak periods. Drivers circling for parking and to load and unload create congestion and significantly increase our air and greenhouse gas pollution.
Walking and Bicycling
Walking and biking account for about a quarter of all trips in San Francisco, but people walking and biking getting struck by drivers make up more than half of all traffic fatalities. While bicycling is the most efficient and affordable way to get around the city, the city’s bicycle network is fragmented, and these gaps deter a broader range of people cycling for everyday use.
Public Transit
The transit system in the city is the greenest in the nation and almost a quarter of all trips in the city are by public transit. The system is overwhelmed in the peak hours of the morning and evening commute but has plenty of excess capacity in between. Infrequent late night services are impacting lower income service workers.
Sharing Culture
San Francisco has pioneered a culture of sharing. Think ride sharing, car sharing, bike sharing and public transit. Using policy to prioritize these options streamlines the transportation system by reducing parking needs and filling empty space in vehicles.
Shared Vehicles
With more people sharing rides of different types, there’s more choices for more people to get around. Car sharing, ridesharing and transit dramatically increase the number of people moved per vehicle, using the 80 percent of vehicle occupancy currently wasted in the majority of auto trips. Car sharing means more people can access the same car and less cars are needed. On average, one vehicle in a neighborhood means six to nine cars not needed now or in the future.
Traffic Relief
Using shared services, the number vehicles on the road declines, helping San Franciscans get where they are going easily while saving money and reducing emissions. Redesigning deliveries to have them shift from large trucks to smaller vans and cargo bike means people get access to their goods with less impact on traffic.
Better Streets
Bike sharing has grown in popularity because people like the ability to pick up and bike and drop it off without the hassles of parking or bringing the bike upstairs. As more people try bike share, they tend to use other forms of sustainable modes. No one has been fatally injured using bike share in the U.S.
Public Transit
Shared services can provide better first-last mile connections to and from public transit. That means more people can get from A to B by public transit.
Connected City
Embracing shared, electric, connected autonomous vehicles will transform our transportation system. Think beyond just cars. Vans, trucks, buses and anything that currently moves around the city can be equipped with this technology. By linking the benefits of shared vehicles to connected and autonomous technology we can move more people in the most efficient , affordable and safest way, dramatically transforming how we get around the city. The system will be phased in over time. As that happens, we will need less space to store parked vehicles, whether that’s parking lots and garages or spaces on the street. We can use space that once held empty cars to build small parks and affordable housing, improving our city for everyone.
Shared, Electric, Connected, Automated Vehicles
Autonomous technology will be used for a shared fleet instead of private ownership. By moving our modes of transportation to a shared model, transportation will belong to everyone and all San Franciscans, regardless of class or ability, will share in the benefits.
Smart Traffic Management
Connected vehicles will be able to sense each other and people walking and bicycling, eliminating collisions and traffic fatalities.
Integrated Streets
Shared connected vehicles will be able to provide more space on streets to active transportation, meaning we will complete the bicycle network and walking will be much safer throughout the city.
City for Everyone
There are 442,000 publicly available parking spaces in San Francisco right now. By freeing up space used for parking and transporting mostly empty vehicles, we can transition that space to parks, pedestrian amenities and affordable housing.
Why San Francisco
San Francisco is the perfect place to develop an innovative framework for deploying cutting edge technology.
As a geographically dense city, innovation spreads quickly helped by a nimble government and a culture of openness. We have the know how and inquisitive spirit to not only effectively design the transportation system of the future but also to spread it.
San Francisco has already cultivated innovative transportation options that are changing the way the country and world move. Our public transit system is one of the best in the country, with over 700,000 daily boardings. We have pioneered the use of “red carpet” transit-only lanes to decrease travel times for Muni riders. The SFpark pilot used dynamic pricing to cut time spent looking for parking nearly in half and decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent.
Just like our leading public transit system, San Francisco is leading the way with shared transportation services. Our history is distinguished by shared mobility options like:
Shared vehicles, like City Carshare and Scoot.
Microtransit or pooling like Chariot or Carma
Ridesharing vehicles like Lyft, Uber and Shuddle
Our experience with a diverse set of shared transportation services shows that San Franciscans will try and embrace new services that fill market needs.
San Francisco is a world-wide leader in innovation. The San Francisco Bay Area is
The number one global start-up ecosystem.
The number one city in venture capital investment.
Has more electric vehicles than any other city.
Has the second most electric vehicle charging stations per capita in the US.
Has 10 companies currently testing automated vehicles.
Furthermore, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has a first of its kind Equity Strategy to ensure that transportation is accessible affordable to all of our citizens. This framework will harness the innovative culture of San Francisco to make sure that everyday people benefit from the work we do building the transportation system of the future.
Get Involved
Winning the Smart City Challenge requires engaging the best of San Francisco’s talent: from the diversity of our neighborhoods, to the entrepreneurial spirit of our innovators, to the openness of our culture. If you are excited about how San Francisco can shape our transportation future, get involved today.
Technology Partner Organizations and Companies
As a part of San Francisco’s bid for the Smart City Challenge we are partnering with some of the most innovative and forward-thinking organizations and companies to help build our approach. Can your organization can help solve transportation challenges? We have a short survey so you can tell us how you can help, here
Community Partners
Are you a San Francisco community organization that wants to be help test transportation technologies? Do you want to make sure that your community is the first to benefit from these changes? The Community Challenge is working with inspired citizens that want to be the early adopters and testers of new technologies. These neighborhoods will be partners with the city in ensuring that these changes work for everyday San Franciscans and fit the communities we all call home.
Tell Us What You Think
We want to know what you think about our plan. Click here to take a short survey that is less than five minutes.
San Francisco has pulled together a dynamic team of civic, academic, and industry partners to win the Smart City Challenge. Agencies across San Francisco have worked in concert to prepare San Francisco’s Smart City Challenge application, including:
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Mayor’s Office of Innovation
Mayor’s Office of Transportation
Mayor’s Office on Disability
San Francisco Planning Department
San Francisco Department of the Environment
San Francisco County Transportation Authority
San Francisco Department of Technology
The City has partnered with University of California, Berkeley, a world-class research university. The University’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center will provide research, evaluation and roadmaps to other locations so they can replicate the successes of the Smart City Challenge. Other academic partners include MIT’s Media Lab, Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology.
In addition to the partnership with a leading university, San Francisco’s application includes partnerships with data providers like Waze and Zen Drive, nonprofit organizations like City Innovate, and regional bodies like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
