We are writing to request clarification on how many people one alternative fuel vehicle may service. Our project is a multi-tenant building with 600 full time tenants. Obviously 3% of the building\'s FTE occupants must be serviced in this case 18 people, but past CIR\'s and the LEED v2.1 reference guide present unclear positions as to how many occupants per vehicle one can assume. For example, in the calculation of carpool spaces we are to assume two occupants per vehicle. However, in CIR dated 1/6/04 the project proposes the use of Zipcar Inc., "Zipcar\'s internal calculations provide for one car per every 25-30 members." The ruling issued on 2/2/04 states " . . . Because use of the Zipcar service allows the intent of SSc4.3 to be met in a multi-unit residential setting, USGBC will grant equivalence for the credit\'s AFV/hybrid vehicle compliance path IF the Zipcar contract is for at least 2 years AND the calculations adn assumptions behind Zipcar\'s estimates of customers served/car are found reasonable by the certification reviewers. . . " Should our client purchase an alternative fuel vehicle for the building, a sharing program will be utilized to organize the use of the vehicle. All the tenants of the building will have equal claim to the car. In this sense, the usage pattern of the vehicle will be no different than that of the Zipcar program. A program is already in place with regards to the use of a company van. We believe that the intent of this credit is to minimize the amount of vehicle based emissions. Naturally, one would then assume that "solo" driving would be discouraged. In our case we believe that buying a fleet of 18 alternative fuel vehicles for the use of the building goes against the spirit of the credit.This leads us back to the main question, how many people can we assume are serviced by a shared-use alternative fuel vehicle ?
For this review, it is important to further define car share services such as those provided by Zipcar and Flexcar. A car share service offers a network of vehicles for their members\' use in certain areas around the country. The car share service is an effective solution to reduce the purchase and use of individually owned vehicles. The SSc4.3 requirement language implies a one-to-one ratio of total occupants to total vehicles (accurate for operations that assign field personnel one car for consistent use throughout the day), but it is fair to interpret that as a ratio of the number of occupants served to total vehicles. A shared-use alternative fuel vehicle (or efficient hybrid) can be applied toward this credit for an office building under the following conditions:1) The project must also achieve SSc4.1, so that the tenants\' employees can access the building without commuting by car.AND2) The following methodology must be used to set the equivalence of occupants served per shared-use alternative fuel vehicle: ....a) Use average estimates from the car share services of the number of privately owned vehicles replaced by the car share service. Zipcar states that each Zipcar vehicle replaces 7 to 10 privately owned vehicles (unfortunately the figure quoted in 2/2/2004 CIR was not accurate). Flexcar indicates that each Flexcar replaces 6 privately owned vehicle. The USGBC estimates that 8 is reasonable compromise. This means that 3 AFV (or gas/electric hybrid) cars would be needed for equivalency in your case.OR....b) Use data from the project\'s existing car share program (if logs were kept) indicating the alternative fuel vehicle\'s daily average number of uses by mass transit commuters (averaged over a significant timeframe, i.e. several months at least, a year preferable).The project\'s certification submittal must include a narrative explaining the carshare program and its administration. Applicable Internationally.