Some city autos can’t hack hills
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
August 28, 2009
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| Off course: These vehicles, which are used by parking control officers, were purchased in an effort to “go green,” but are plagued with mechanical problems, a report says. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — They are the little cars that couldn’t.
Natural gas-powered traffic carts used for issuing tickets to parking violators purchased by The City in its attempts to “go green” are plagued with mechanical problems and have difficulty maneuvering San Francisco’s famous hills.
Twenty-six of the problem carts are in the fleet after The City limited purchase of the vehicles to only natural gas ones between 2001 and 2003, according to a city report.
The green carts have had mechanical problems through the years, causing the Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees parking, to purchase replacement vehicles because the natural gas versions are not very functional, the report said.
“The carts do not travel well on hills and there have been problems keeping them running properly,” according to the report.
As San Francisco struggles to close a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deficit, a review of the car fleet was initiated. It was found that millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted or can be saved with more stringent management of the hundreds of cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles in the fleet. The report, prepared by Mercury Associates, was released in two parts. The first, released in February, addressed The City’s sedans and small cars, and the second, released this month, dealt with remaining vehicles.
The latest report said The City can save $2.7 million in taxpayer dollars by dumping more than a hundred trucks and other vehicles that are rarely used by city employees, including eight of the parking enforcement vehicles that can’t make it up steep hills.
The first-of-its-kind study also recommends selling 111 vehicles, such as three-wheelers and pickup trucks, in an effort to save money and help the environment.
In addition to eliminating 111 vehicles, another 47 should be pooled into a citywide car-share program, according to the report. The savings of about $2.7 million would happen through the next five years.
The first part of the study recommended discarding just more than 100 cars and placing another couple dozen into a car-share program.
In January, just weeks before the study came out, hundreds of city employees were ordered to hand over the keys to their government-issued sedans in an effort to save taxpayers more than $1 million a year. Mayor Gavin Newsom called for the immediate elimination of 103 cars, nearly 10 percent of The City’s light-duty passenger vehicles, which are mostly sedans and small cars emblazoned with The City seal.
“We initiated this report and now that we have all the facts we’re going to aggressively follow all its recommendations, and in fact we’ve already begun the process,” Newsom said.
Cutting costs
Reducing The City’s vehicle fleet could save millions by avoiding vehicle replacements, selling used autos, reducing fuel use.
4,669 Total vehicles in San Francisco’s fleet
2,647 Trucks and pieces of equipment
111 Immediately eliminated
47 Put into a city vehicle pool
$744,964 Immediate cost savings
$2,709,080 Cost savings through five years
Source: Mercury Associates Inc.
bbegin@sfexaminer.com
