Adam P. Cohen

Carsharing and Personal Vehicle Services: Worldwide Market Developments and Emerging Trends

ABSTRACT Carsharing (or short-term auto use) provides a flexible alternative that meets diverse transportation needs across the globe, while reducing the negative impacts of private vehicle ownership. More than 65 years ago, carsharing began appearing in Europe. It has expanded to approximately 1,100 cities worldwide, in 26 nations on five continents. This article provides a global perspective of carsharing growth and future developments from 2006 through 2015, employing data from three surveys conducted in 2006, 2008, and 2010. The authors explore the interview findings of 25 carsharing experts worldwide representing 25 of 26 nations, collected in 2010.

Growth in Worldwide Carsharing: An International Comparison

Carsharing (or short-term auto use) provides a flexible alternative that meets diverse transportation needs across the globe while reducing the negative impacts of private vehicle ownership. Although carsharing appeared in Europe between the 1940s and 1980s, the concept did not become popularized until the early 1990s. For nearly 20 years, worldwide participation in carsharing has been growing. Today, carsharing operates in approximately 600 cities around the world, in 18 nations and on 4 continents. Approximately 348,000 individuals share nearly 11,700 vehicles as part of organized carsharing services (>60% in Europe). Malaysia is operating a carsharing pilot, with a planned launch in 2007. Another eight countries are exploring carsharing. Thirty-three carsharing expert surveys were identified on an international basis. Cost savings, convenient locations, and guaranteed parking were identified as the most common motivations for carsharing use worldwide. An international comparison of carsharing operations, including similarities and differences, is provided. Continued growth is forecast, particularly among new and emerging market segments, such as businesses and universities. Growth-oriented operators will continue to account for the largest number of members and fleets deployed worldwide. In addition, high energy costs; limited and expensive parking; ongoing diffusion of operational knowledge, benefits, and supportive technologies; and increased demand for personal vehicle access in developing nations will affect carsharings growth and expansion.

Carsharing in North America: Market Growth, Current Developments, and Future Potential

Carsharing provides members access to a fleet of autos for short-term use throughout the day, reducing the need for one or more personal vehicles. Over ten years ago, carsharing operators began to appear in North America. Since 1994, a total of 40 programs have been deployed—28 are operating in 36 urban areas and 12 are now defunct. Another four are planned to launch in the next year. This paper examines carsharing growth potential in North America, based on a survey of 26 existing organizations conducted from April to July 2005. Since the mid-1990s, the number of members and vehicles supported by carsharing in the U.S. and Canada continues to grow, despite program closures. The three largest providers in the U.S. and Canada both support 94% of the total carsharing membership. Growth potential in major metropolitan regions is estimated at 10% of individuals over the age of 21 in North America. While carsharing continues to gain popularity and market share, the authors conclude that increased carsharing education,impact evaluation, and supportive policy approaches, including mainstreaming carsharing as a transportation strategy, would aid the ongoing expansion and development of this alternative to private vehicle ownership.

PUBLIC BIKESHARING IN NORTH AMERICA: EARLY OPERATOR UNDERSTANDING AND EMERGING TRENDS

Public bikesharing, the shared use of a bicycle fleet by the public, is an innovative mobility strategy that has emerged recently in major North American cities. Typically, bikesharing systems position bicycles throughout an urban environment, within a network of docking stations, for immediate access. Bikesharing services with a basis in information technology (IT) began to emerge in North America approximately 5 years ago. Twenty-eight IT-based programs were deployed between 2007 and March 2013. Twenty-four are operational, two are temporarily suspended, and two are now defunct. This study examined the growth potential of bikesharing in North America on the basis of a survey of all 15 IT-based public bikesharing systems in operation in the United States and all four programs deployed in Canada as of January 2012. These programs accounted for 172,070 users and 5,238 bicycles in the United States and for 44,352 users and 6,235 bicycles in Canada. Early operator understanding of North American public bikesharing is reviewed and emerging trends for prospective program start-ups are discussed.

Carsharing Parking Policy: Review of North American Practices and San Francisco, California, Bay Area Case Study

Carsharing provides users access to a shared vehicle fleet for short-term use throughout the day, reducing the need for private vehicles. The provision of on-street and public off-street parking dedicated to carsharing is an important policy area confronting public agencies. As of July 2009, approximately 377,600 individuals were carsharing members in North America in about 57 metropolitan areas. Seventeen jurisdictions, one state (California), and eight public transit operators in North America have formal and informal carsharing parking policies, pilot projects, and proposed legislation. These policies, projects, and proposals are reviewed in this paper, along with a framework for carsharing parking policy that reflects three levels of government support. In addition, the authors examine carsharing parking policies in three jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Area in California that account for an estimated 50,000 carsharing members and 1,100 shared-use vehicles. Supporting this examination is an intercept survey on carsharing parking (n = 425) conducted in the Bay Area. Most people supported the conversion of some type of spaces for carsharing use, and 48% thought that carsharing organizations should compensate the city for on-street spaces. At the same time, converting most types of spaces was opposed by at least 20% of respondents. Neighborhood residents were generally more in favor of parking conversion for carsharing than people visiting the area for work or errands. Finally, a majority (61%) thought that nonprofits should have priority over for-profit organizations for carsharing spaces and should pay less than for-profit organizations.