Understanding the demand for carsharing : lessons from Italian case studies.

Abstract

In this article, the authors use case studies from Italy to estimate the potential demand for carsharing. After a review of the literature, the authors propose a model to calculate the total generalized cost for a given mobility pattern and transport mode mix. They derived the parameters of the model from detailed, in-person, computer-assisted interviews. Their study found that car ownership is very high in Italian families; cars are used for both work or study purposes as well as pleasure or recreational purposes; and that workers prefer using a private car but students want to choose between car ownership and carsharing. Three case studies are presented in detail, based on low, medium, and high mobility of the participants. As might be expected, the low mobility case study showed that these people would benefit and use a carsharing service and the high mobility case study, which was from a small town setting, showed that the likelihood of a carsharing service succeeding was quite low. The authors conclude by stressing that a larger set of interviews and the knowledge of how representative the case studies are of a city or a region will lead to a reliable estimate of the potential success of a carsharing service. The appendix to the article reprints the survey instrument.