Carshare, bikeshare, other programs to help underserved neighborhoods continue even after state grant sunsets
 

Stockton Mobility Collective, the transportation equity program created by the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) to help residents travel to jobs, schools, health care, grocery stores, and other key destinations vital to everyday life, recently received statewide recognition for its innovation.

The California Association of Councils of Governments (CalCOG) presented SJCOG with a 2025 Eureka! Award during its 2025 Regional Leadership Forum in March. “This award aims to recognize the creative leadership and thinking needed to develop and implement new ideas that can serve as examples or best practices for others to follow,” according to the CalCOG website. Already, the Stockton Mobility Collective is being held up as an example for what can be done to provide underserved neighborhoods with clean, affordable transportation options.

“It was incredibly rewarding to stand among so many regional leaders from around the state and have them acknowledge all the effort that went into making the Stockton Mobility Collective a reality,” Lathrop Mayor and SJCOG Board Chair Paul Akinjo said. “This recognition truly highlights the dedication, vision, and innovative spirit of everyone on the SJCOG board and staff who worked so hard to make this happen.”

Stockon Mobility Collective did what it set out to do – transform lives in underserved South Stockton by providing access to clean, affordable transportation using a $7.4 million Sustainable Transportation Equity Project (STEP) grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“Many of us don’t think twice about hopping in our cars to get where we need to go,” Stockton Mayor and SJCOG Vice Chair Christina Fugazi said. “But this pilot project gave South Stockton residents the opportunity to handle everyday errands and essential appointments without the financial burden of owning a car. It offered them the freedom to move around easily and do things that truly matter in their daily lives.”

Support from many sides made the project possible.

“The SJCOG Board had a vision as far back as 2021 that this project could be successful in helping people find clean, affordable ways to get where they needed to be,” SJCOG Executive Director Diane Nguyen said. “Board members saw the project’s potential and threw its collective support behind it to make it a reality. Our partners were committed to helping us fulfill that vision and we are very grateful to them for seeing this through to 2025.”

Stockton Mobility Collective offered access to an electric carsharing program through nonprofit Míocar, an electric pedal-assist bikesharing program, an improved Vamos-EZHub app, transit and mobility incentives, and workforce development. Despite the STEP grant sunsetting in December 2024, much of the Stockton Mobility Collective will continue to help the underserved. The carsharing program will continue under Míocar; Bike Stockton will continue and expand with a recent state Clean Mobility Options grant; the expanded Vamos-EZHub trip planning and payment app will continue; and the workforce development program has already placed trainees as full-time employees with Mícoar and Bike Stockton.

“This program has literally changed the course of my future because I’m getting more opportunities through the program,” said Joshua Rodacker, a workforce development trainee. “The best thing about the job training program was just getting out there and getting hands-on experience that I needed. And it was a great confidence builder, also.”
The electric carsharing program gave some South Stockton residents choices they didn’t have before.

“The Míocar adds so much freedom to my life,” said Zackary Florence, a Míocar user. “Now that the Míocar is available, I can go a lot farther and a lot more other locations that are quite a bit farther than I was able to before. And I don’t have to worry about inconveniencing anyone.”

For others, the Stockton Mobility Collective became a lifeline to vital services.

“I use it for medical reasons to go back and forth to the doctor and errands like grocery store, bank and things like that,” said Mary Alvarez, a Míocar user.

The cost of purchasing a vehicle, fuel, maintenance and vehicle insurance often puts personal transportation out of reach for low-income residents. Those residents need transportation options that better connect them to the rest of the city.

SJCOG developed the Stockton Mobility Collective to respond to those needs and as a transformative mobility equity effort to improve transportation options for residents looking for clean, affordable ways to get around. The pilot program’s bold ambition was to connect underserved South Stockton with other parts of the city. SJCOG did that by first building a strong coalition that included community-based organizations, nonprofits, the Institute for Local Government, the UC Davis Institute for Transportation, the county housing authority, and more. Leveraging years of community engagement and trust-building, each pilot program was carefully designed to meet the specific needs of South Stockton’s residents.

The Stockton Mobility Collective was part of California Climate Investments (CCI), a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.