Who Is Attracted to Carsharing?

Abstract

Carsharing offers access to cars and other vehicles without ownership of those vehicles. This transportation option is growing rapidly in the United States and Canada. In appropriate community settings, carsharing can increase mobility, reduce vehicle travel, and complement other transportation modes. In a TCRP project that provided a wide-ranging analysis of carsharing in North America, direct contacts with carsharing members through focus groups and a web-based survey were used to determine demographic characteristics of users, their travel patterns, and their attitudes about carsharing. Special attention was paid to why members joined carsharing organizations, how they used the services, and what they liked and disliked about carsharing. With descriptive statistics from the Internet survey and qualitative analyses of focus group results (both checked against previous literature), it was determined that carsharing appeals to individuals who can be considered to be social activists, environmental protectors, innovators, economizers, or practical travelers. Carsharing companies and their partners could conceivably increase their membership by targeting such individuals and others with certain demographic characteristics.