Closing the Community Mobility Financing Gap

Mobility projects are essential for bolstering both economic vitality and the social fabric of communities. As such, shared-mobility has emerged as a transformative solution to empower low-income communities. Shared-mobility encompasses a variety of on-demand, community-based transportation options from ride-sharing to micro-mobility and niche last-mile connectivity models. Shared-mobility emphasizes convenience, affordability, and clean energy, but also strikes a balance between public support and private initiatives. However, despite its benefits, these projects often struggle to attract the necessary investments. 

CALSTART, a non-profit organization working to develop ways for companies and governments to adopt clean mobility solutions in the U.S., has asked the Capstone team to explore the financial challenges impeding shared mobility projects. With CALSTART’s mission in mind, the team examined innovative strategies to foster more inclusive and sustainable transportation solutions and craft policy recommendations to promote shared-mobility projects at the state and federal level. To determine the financial mechanisms that could be most effective for funding shared mobility projects, the team interviewed  a variety of experts in the fields of transportation, finance, and clean energy. The team looked at mechanisms in other policy areas such as housing and clean energy at the local, state, and federal levels that could also apply to the transportation sector. The recommendations for strategies to fund these smaller projects revolve around bundling these projects with others in areas with more robust financing mechanisms, and tapping into those sources.