Two Getaround Parking Spaces Come To Alamo Square

Two Getaround Parking Spaces Come To Alamo SquarePhoto: Nuala Sawyer/Hoodline
Nuala Sawyer
Published on July 16, 2015

Spectators of the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square may notice a slight change to the corner of Steiner and Hayes streets, as two parking spaces have been allocated specifically to Getaround vehicles.

Getaround—the car-sharing program that uses cars owned by individuals—partnered with the SFMTA last year in a pilot program to take over 450 parking spots throughout the city. These spots will be rented to Getaround users as an added impetus for car owners in the city to join the program, and to make parking for Getaround cars for both car owners and users easier.

"We can all agree there’s a finite amount of parking in the Alamo Square neighborhood," Ben Jose, spokesperson for the SFMTA, told us. "The SFMTA believes that the available parking should serve all the neighbors, not just the ones that own a car."

A proposal for the Getaround location on Alamo Square was heard at an SFMTA public hearing on July 11th of 2014, and was approved by the SFMTA Board for pilot car share use in January of this year.

What differs about these Getaround parking spots versus those used by Zipcar or City Carshare is that the cars occupying them are owned by people who live in the neighborhood—meaning Getaround is not actually adding cars to the city, or taking parking away from its residents.

"Having access to a reliable parking space is a major hurdle for individuals wanting to share their cars in San Francisco," said Meg Murray from Getaround. "By providing access to on-street parking across the city, the SFMTA will help SF residents share their cars on Getaround, providing thousands of SF residents with a reliable affordable transportation option."

The effect car-sharing can have on the city overall is still being examined. According to Murray, studies show that each shared cars removes about 10 cars from the road, as residents choose to rent shared cars rather than buy their own."This in turn helps to relieve both traffic and parking congestion while reducing CO2 emissions," Murray tells us.

There are currently over 1,000 cars registered on Getaround in the Bay Area. Both Getaround and the SFMTA will be studying the impact of these allocated parking spots and analyzing data to determine if they're useful, but in the meantime, expect to see more Getaround parking spots popping up throughout the city.