Will electric car-sharing attract citizens of touristic islands? Evidence from the island of Rhodes, Greece

Abstract

The introduction of shared mobility services in transportation systems has created the potential to address traffic congestion and environmental issues, which derive from passengers’ transport. Thus, shared mobility services, including electric car-sharing, can significantly assist the formation of sustainable cities. Although car-sharing systems have already been established to several cities worldwide, Greece lags in adopting these systems. The sense of ownership for the citizens is strong and there is a great tendency of using private cars. It is observed that this tendency is even higher for the citizens of touristic islands. For understanding whether electric car-sharing could attract a part of the citizens, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the island of Rhodes, Greece. A stated preference experiment is included in the questionnaire, where the citizens were asked to select among a shared electric car and their private car, in scenarios where the trip duration and cost are fluctuated. Descriptive statistical analysis and a discrete choice model were implemented for analyzing the gathered responses. Through the discrete choice model, the parameters that affect the intention of the citizens to use a shared electric car are being identified and the value of time of the citizens is being also computed. Based on the results, useful policy and market-oriented recommendations derive.