Abstract
Private car-use is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. Car-sharing is often hypothesised as a potential solution to reduce car-ownership, which can lead to car-sharing users reducing their car-use. However, there is a risk that car-sharing may also increase car-use amongst some users. Existing studies on the impacts of car-sharing on car-use are often based on estimates of the users’ own judgement of the effects; few studies make use of quasi-experimental methods. In this paper, the impact of car-sharing on car-ownership and car-use in Flanders, Belgium is estimated using survey data from both sharers and non-sharers. The impact on car-use is estimated using zero-inflated negative binomial regression, applied to matched samples of car-sharing users and non-users. The results show that the car-sharing may reduce car-use, but only if a significant number of users reduce their car-ownership. Policy intervention may therefore be required to ensure car-sharing leads to a reduction in car-use by, for example, discouraging car-ownership. Further research using quasi-experimental methods is required to illuminate whether the promise of car-sharing is reflected in reality.
Highlights
Cars are a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, representing 14% of the world’s GHG emissions in 2010 [1]
11% of respondents identified as car-sharing users, with a significant number of these from the p2p organisation Degage, the only car-sharing provider who spread the survey amongst their users
The means of continuous control variables and the relative frequency of categorical control variables for Lower Access Users (LAUs) and Higher Access Users (HAUs) are presented in Tables 7 and 8 respectively, and the response to the three statements are in Tables 9 and 10
Summary
Cars are a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, representing 14% of the world’s GHG emissions in 2010 [1]. Car-sharing may support the development of cars with higher fuel efficiencies and much longer functional lifetimes (in terms of distance travelled), leading to fewer cars being produced [2]. Through both behavioural changes from drivers and changes to the cars themselves, car-sharing may reduce impacts associated both with car production and with car-use. There has been some empirical evidence of environmental benefits: Martin and Shaheen [3] estimated a reduction in GHG emissions due to a reduction in car-ownership and car-use, while Chen and Kockelman [4], using life-cycle analysis, estimated a reduction of approximately 51% in emissions of car-sharing users, with reductions in car-use the major contributor. We draw some implications for policymakers, while for researchers, we discuss some key methodological issues in measuring the impacts of car-sharing, and recommend solutions
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