Author: Clare Le

LACI Expression of Interest: Voluntary Neighborhood Zero Emissions Delivery Zone

LOS ANGELES CLEANTECH INCUBATOR (LACI)

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

VOLUNTARY NEIGHBORHOOD ZERO EMISSIONS DELIVERY ZONE

RESPONSES DUE by 5:00 PM Pacific Time on April 8, 2020

LACI is seeking partners to host the County’s first-ever zero-emissions delivery zone! Read on and apply if you’re interested in reducing air pollution, noise pollution, and congestion in your urban community.

GENERAL REQUEST

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is seeking expressions of interest from qualified applicants to deploy a neighborhood-based voluntary zero emissions delivery zone focused on utilizing zero emissions goods movement solutions in a specific zone within the County of Los Angeles.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

LA is one of the most traffic-choked cities in America, and suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the nation. This has been exacerbated by a recent threefold rise in e-commerce deliveries, with diesel-powered delivery trucks exacerbating both congestion and pollution. 

LACI and many other organizations are working on revolutionizing transportation and mobility in LA—and one of the major steps they have taken together is to create the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP).  In order to meet the aggressive targets of the partnership, TEP released its Roadmap 2.0 report in November 2019, articulating how to achieve an additional 25% reduction in GHG emissions and air pollution in the LA region by 2028.  In particular, the Roadmap calls for 60% of medium-duty delivery trucks in LA County to be electric by 2028.

To help Los Angeles achieve this target, LACI has proposed to pilot a voluntary zero emissions delivery zone, the first of its kind in the US.  A pilot of this nature should jumpstart progress towards the TEP 2028 goal. Intended outcomes are focused on:

  • Reduction in air pollution
  • Reduction in traffic congestion via smaller footprint vehicles (e.g., e-cargo bikes)
  • Reduction in noise
  • A source for cities in Southern California to develop policies on zero emissions goods deliveries

LACI has secured $350,000 in funding for this pilot and is pursuing additional funding sources that will support technology procurement, deployment, and operations; zone enforcement; local outreach; and project management led by LACI.   

Communities, particularly business improvement districts (BIDs), in the County of Los Angeles are eligible to apply along with two co-applicants representing a Community Based Organization (CBO) and a Real Estate Partner. All submissions must be submitted here in the platform by 5pm Pacific Time on April 8, 2020.

*REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

If any respondent has questions regarding the meaning of any part of this expression of interest, the respondent shall submit a written request to pilots@alaincubator.org

LACI will also provide in-person opportunities to pose questions and seek out further information through scoping workshops with the TEP partners hosted at LACI on March 18 & 19.  Please email pilots@alaincubator.org to schedule a session.

FAQ

Is there a specific type of geography that is preferred over others for a last-mile zero emissions delivery zone?  What are the requirements for minimum and maximum radius of the zone?

Likely a 1-3 mile radius, depending on density of neighborhood and amount of deliveries.  

A high density commercial and residential landscape with large B2B and B2C delivery drop volumes would be preferred in order to extract the most useful data. Additionally, this would have a larger impact on measurement of air quality due to larger volumes of diesel vans/trucks trips replaced by electric vans/trucks and e-cargo bikes.   E-cargo bikes have a 1-2 mile radius for daily deployment (~15 mile driven daily).

Will all transportation operating in the voluntary last-mile zero emissions delivery zone be required to be zero emissions?

No, only those from delivery companies who commit to engaging the pilot.  LACI will work to engage delivery companies in the pilot.

How will the impact of this pilot be measured?

LACI is targeting funding for measurement and verification, including air quality monitoring (general and hyper-local), noise levels and congestion.  Applicants are encouraged to articulate what impact measures should be tracked.

How will costs be covered?

LACI will manage issues relating to restrictions on the use of budget dollars, reimbursement, procurement rules, etc. directly with subcontractors on this project.  

NOTE: We do not expect to be able to support the procurement of medium-duty electric trucks for this pilot, as many leading parcel delivery companies have already started adopting electric trucks for delivery in various markets.

What does success look like for this pilot?

We expect a successful pilot will improve local air quality, and reduce noise pollution and congestion for communities. Furthermore, a successful pilot will provide best practices on policies, deployments, and enforcement for cities in Southern California and across the nation to develop the confidence to send market signals on zero-emissions goods deliveries. 

 

Confidentiality Statement:

In connection with the Pilot Project Engineering Services and Construction Management RFI (the “Purpose“), either Party (“Disclosing Party“) may disclose Confidential Information (as defined below) to the other Party (“Recipient“). Recipient shall use the Confidential Information solely for the Purpose, and shall not disclose such Confidential Information other than to its affiliates and its or their employees, officers, directors, members, managers, investment committee members, agents, attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors (collectively, “Representatives“) who: (a) need access to such Confidential Information for the Purpose; (b) are informed of its confidential nature; and (c) are bound by confidentiality obligations no less protective of the Confidential Information than the terms contained herein. Recipient shall safeguard the Confidential Information from unauthorized use, access, or disclosure using no less than a commercially reasonable degree of care. Recipient will be responsible for any breach of this Agreement caused by its Representatives. Recipient agrees to notify Disclosing Party in writing of any misuse or misappropriation of Confidential Information of Disclosing Party that may come to Recipient’s attention.

Confidential Information” means all non-public proprietary or confidential information relating to Disclosing Party and the Purpose, in oral, visual, written, electronic, or other tangible or intangible form, whether or not marked or designated as “confidential” and all notes, analyses, summaries, and other materials prepared by Recipient or any of its Representatives that contain, are based on, or otherwise reflect, to any degree, any of the foregoing (“Notes“); provided, however, that Confidential Information does not include any information that: (a) is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of Recipient’s or its Representatives’ breach of this Agreement; (b) is obtained by Recipient or its Representatives on a non-confidential basis from a third-party that was not legally or contractually restricted from disclosing such information; (c) was in Recipient’s or its Representatives’ possession prior to Disclosing Party’s disclosure hereunder; or (d) was or is independently developed by Recipient or its Representatives without using any Confidential Information. Confidential Information also includes (x) the facts that the Parties are in discussions regarding the Purpose (or, without limitation, any termination of such discussions) and that Confidential Information has been disclosed; and (y) any terms, conditions, or arrangements discussed.