Resources and Reports

Community Profiles

Chula Vista Community Profile December 2012

Escondido Community Profile October 2012

National City Community Profile October 2012

Oceanside Community Profile October 2012

Vista Community Profile February 2013 

Move San Diego's FAST Plan and the FTA

Performance-based transit planning and San Diego Move SD's FAST Plan is the result of applying global best planning practices to the San Diego region. Read about it in this Appendix to a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) study on this important topic. View the Appendix of the study:

Application of the Quickway Model to an American City: San Diego and the FAST Plan (9 pages);

or the entire report:

FTA study Advanced Network Planning for Bus Rapid Transit (116 pages).

The "Green Dividend" Report

Move San Diego has released The Green Dividend report, challenging San Diegans to reduce their driving habits by 3 miles per person per day, to bring our city in line with the national average.

Click to Download the Green Dividend Report

The San Diego metropolitan region has the ability to tap into new wealth – simply by collectively reducing the number of miles we drive on a daily basis. This is quantified as Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per person per day.

We are fiscally constrained, faced with increasing economic recession and yet we allow over $1 billion annually to “drip from the faucet” by driving around so much.  We almost can’t help it – our land use patterns have all but required it.

The Green Dividend, authored by economist Joe Cortright for Move San Diego, demonstrates our regional economy could realize as much as $2 billion annually through avoided fuel and capital costs for car ownership, and avoided time sitting in traffic if San Diegans reduce their VMT just by 3.2 miles per person per day – down to that of the national average. This money would be spent locally on goods and services, and would have a definite impact on our region.

This VMT reduction strategy would cause our roads to be less congested, thus keeping us from wasting time in traffic, and would make us healthier by reducing pollution in the air we breath, and increasing our fitness levels due to accelerated walking , biking and use of public transit.

However, our current RTP (Regional Transportation Plan) anticipates that, by the year 2030, the VMT will increase by 50% over year 2000 levels! It includes over 800 new miles of freeway lanes, and collectively a total of 38.8 million more VMT per year. SANDAG is preparing now for the 2050 RTP update, and still has plans for massive freeway expansion.

If we know we can save over $1 Billion annually by reducing VMT just by a little over 3 miles per person per day, how much will it cost us when we increase VMT by 50%? It’s not a question I want to know the answer to.

Through well planned land use and housing policy, and more effective public transit investments, we can realize the Green Dividend. We will reduce VMT, put money back in the pockets of the citizenry, clean up our planet, and keep San Diego moving.

Billion Dollar “Green Dividend” for the San Diego region

According to a new study by CEO for Cities, “San Diego’s Green Dividend,” more than a billion dollars of savings can be realized through improving our green transportation habits and making greener planning and development choices.

Reducing the average regional commute from its current 23.7 daily miles per person to 20.5 dmpp would produce a financial savings estimated at $1.7 billion. This would place San Diego in the top 10% of large metro areas. (matching Portland at 20.1 mpd and Sacramento at 19 mpd). Much of this “green dividend” would be recaptured by the local economy rather than having these dollars leave the local region as they do now.

“San Diegans are already moving in this direction in response to having the highest cost for gasoline in the country,” stated the study’s author, economist Joe Cortright. “While some are able to move closer to their jobs, others have moved to using transit leaving more room for others who must continue to drive.” Cortright said.

A virtuous circle of green benefits is available: saving time, money and reducing traffic congestion. This “Green Dividend” also consists of increased happiness according to the report. The report estimates San Diego drivers could save 125 million hours per year, adding another $1.8 billion of economic value to the potential green dividend (at $15/hour as the value of the time saved.)

“Reducing the amount of time employees spend stuck in traffic yields multiple rewards,” stated Reed Vickerman, Board member of Move San Diego and Vice President of Operations of Amylin Pharmaceuticals.

Greening our transportation and land use planning would also contribute significantly to reducing our regional contributions to global warming (carbon footprint) and help bring us into compliance with state mandates to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Would you trade your car for a bike? One Move San Diego advocate did. An email about a bike event sent through the weekly Move News caught Heidi Konieczka’s eye — what was the Tour de Fat? Reading further about the “Car for Bike Swap”, she put together a three minute video about why she wanted to trade her car for a custom bicycle. This last minute entry worked out — a few days later, Zach Levis of New Belgium Brewing Company called to announce her selection as the “chosen one”.

Soon thereafter, on a sunny Saturday afternoon in October, Heidi’s life was forever changed when she sacrificed her ‘93 Honda Civic to the Tour de Fat altar in exchange for a bike. But not just any bike — a New Belgium, fully-loaded, hand-crafted, Fort Collins-built commuter bike and trailer. Come rain or shine, she vowed before thousands of San Diegans to adopt this two-wheeled gem as her new means of transportation for the next year.

If you were given this opportunity to be a trader, would you? Think about it — it’s about weaning yourself off the petroleum teat. It’s about becoming a better, sexier person. It’s about rediscovering the cultural thrill of public transportation. While you ponder your own reasons for switching over to the bright side of dual-wheeled, human-powered transit, pick up a bike and test it out. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop. Just ask Heidi.

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