 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 TEL: (510) 981-7100, FAX: (510) 981-7199, TDD: (510) 981-6903 Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Email: mayor@ci.berkeley.ca.us |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
Press
Contact: |
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Berkeley’s
CarShare Program Nominated for Prestigious ‘Innovations in American
Government Award’ City’s
innovative program to share fleet vehicles with the public is in the
running for the “Oscars of government prizes” and a $100,000 grant
from Harvard University. Berkeley, CA –
The City of Berkeley’s innovative program to share a dedicated
fleet of municipal cars with private citizens was one of 12 city programs
in the United States to be named today as a semifinalist for the
prestigious “Innovations in American Government Award” – often
referred to as the “Oscars” of government prizes. Under a partnership with City
CarShare, the City retired 15 of its fleet vehicles and has replaced
them with four hybrid cars operated by City CarShare. City
employees have exclusive access to those cars during business hours,
Monday-Friday. During the evenings and on weekends, any member of City
CarShare may reserve one of the cars for their own use. “This innovative
program will save Berkeley taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars,
improve government efficiency, reduce pollution, and provide an
alternative to car ownership for Berkeley residents,” said Mayor Tom
Bates. “We have already
been contacted by a number of other cities from across the nation who hope
to use Berkeley’s car sharing program as a model for their
communities.” The Innovations in
American Government Awards, now in its 18th year, is a program
of the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard
University’s Kennedy School of Government.
In all, 50 programs at the federal, state, and local levels were
named semifinalists. In
April, 18 finalists will be named. The
six winning programs will be announced in July. A list of semifinalists
is available at www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu. # # # |
|
Please
note: If you are unable to access information on this website, please
contact the Mayor's Office. City of Berkeley Home / Departments / Mayor Home
|
||
