National Center for Sustainable Transportation

Under California’s Cap-and-Trade program, the State’s portion of the proceeds from Cap-and-Trade auctions is deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The Legislature and Governor enact budget appropriations from the GGRF for State agencies to invest in projects that help achieve the State’s climate goals. These investments are collectively called California Climate Investments. Senate Bill (SB) 862 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop guidance on reporting and quantification methods for all State agencies that receive appropriations from the GGRF. To date, multiple California Climate Investments programs have offered funding for new bicycle paths or lanes. CARB developed quantification methodologies to provide project-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and co-benefit estimates for administering agencies to use when selecting projects for funding. To measure GHG emission reductions from new bike paths and lanes, CARB relies on a method it published with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in 2005 for evaluating motor vehicle fee registration projects and congestion mitigation and air quality improvement (CMAQ) projects. This report summarizes outcomes from a literature review to determine whether and how the CMAQ methods could be modified to better reflect emerging data and methods for estimating reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from new bike facilities. The report also proposes an alternative VMT reduction quantification method based on existing bicyclist counts along the project corridor.

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