Changes in private car ownership associated with car sharing: gauging differences by residential location and car share typology.

Abstract

While a large body of literature shows that car share encourages low car ownership, the evidence is rather limited in the context of different types of car share (fleet-based versus peer-to-peer) and geographic settings (inner versus middle suburbs). This study was an in-depth investigation of the impact of (round-trip) car share on ownership, including forgone or delayed purchasing across different car share systems. An online survey was conducted with car share members (n = 651) and non-members (n = 290) in Melbourne, Australia. All respondents had a shared car available within a 10-min walk of their home. The first part of the paper compared member and non-member householders (socio-demographically and geographically adjusted) and found that members owned significantly fewer cars than non-members. In the second part of the paper, a quasi-longitudinal comparison of car share members was conducted. One in three households reduced car ownership, and most reductions occurred in the year prior to joining car share. Fleet-based car share members reported a larger reduction in car ownership compared to peer-to-peer car share members. Residents of inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne reported similar "net" reductions in car ownership, the reasons differed. Residents in densely populated inner suburbs used car share to avoid or delay car ownership while middle suburb residents used car share to avoid purchasing a second car. Findings provide valuable insights for transport policy settings which have the potential to influence car share availability and thereby support broader policy objectives to reduce dependency on private car ownership and use.