Rating System

LEED O+M: Existing Buildings

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

Compliance Track Option B, alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles will be provided for 3% of building occupants: The Property contracts with Flexcar (now Zipcar) for two (2) exclusive use vehicles that are kept on site in dedicated parking spots and are part of a tenant awareness program. Item for interpretation In question is the number of shared vehicles required to serve 3% of building occupants. It is evident from review of past CIRs that many projects are trying to determine how many car-shares are needed to serve 3% of building occupants. The calculation can be done in two ways: 1) Private-vehicle equivalent. This equivalency considers one shared vehicle to replace approximately 8 private vehicles. The number ranges from 6 to 10 private cars replaced; USGBC has in the past recognized the number 8 or 9. 2) Number of users served. This number is based on data regarding the number of users one shared car regularly serves. This has been measured as ranging from 25-35 users, in some cases going as high as 50 users. In past CIRs, USGBC has recognized the private-vehicle equivalence number. However, the purpose of this credit track is to provide a shared vehicle. It therefore seems appropriate to base the required number of vehicles on the number of users who are regularly served by one car. By this definition, the Property\'s account with Flexcar, for two (2) dedicated vehicles, fulfills the requirement. Data from the General Manager of Flexcar (now Zipcar) San Francisco, specific to the account , states the following: "Your Location: 2 vehicles, each has average 20 members sharing them regularly averaging 7.5 hours utilization a day." Based on the above data, 40 building occupants are regularly served by the two dedicated shared-use vehicles. This fulfills the requirement of serving 3% of the 1,200 building occupants, or 36 occupants. If the Property were required to provide shared-use vehicles to 3% of the building\'s 1,200 occupants (36 occupants) based on the private vehicle equivalence number (8 cars being equivalent to one private vehicle), 4 cars would be required. We believe that to provide the additional two vehicles would go against the intent of the credit. Four shared-use vehicles would be, at this time, more capacity than the demand of the building requires, and would take valuable shared-use vehicles out of other locations in the neighborhood.