Carsharing Members Research Articles

Business-to-business carsharing: evidence from Britain of factors associated with employer-based carsharing membership and its impacts

Carsharing organizations (known as car clubs in Britain) are today evolving in new ways. One noteworthy development is the growth of the business-to-business (B2B) market, which is motivated in part by operators’ desire to smooth the temporal profile of overall carsharing demand and thereby increase aggregate fleet-utilization rates. In contrast to the widely-studied business-to-consumer (B2C) market, however, comparatively little is known about the B2B segment. This study fills this gap by drawing on a national survey of both Britain’s B2B carsharing members (n = 682) and employers’ corporate travel administrators that oversee an organization’s B2B carsharing membership (n = 127). Analytical methods included both descriptive statistics and multivariate regression techniques. We find that two-thirds (68 %) of B2B members use carsharing for their usual business travel, and that half (51 %) of them previously used their own car for such travel. Approximately one in seven (15 %) respondents indicated that their carsharing membership through their employer has changed their travel habits by allowing them to commute to work less often by private car, as they do not require their own personal car for work-related travel during their workday. It appears that car use for (non-commuting) business purposes may increase, however. This paper concludes with a discussion of open questions that are suggested to motivate the future research agenda.

Evaluating the influence of carsharing stations’ location on potential membership: a Swiss case study

Carsharing as a mode, in any of its different forms, has the peculiarity of being accessible only to members. The research presented in this paper focuses on round-trip-based carsharing, where vehicles are parked at fixed locations, called in this paper stations. Round-trip-based carsharing has been the first successful form of carsharing, and is still the most diffused one in many countries. Several studies looked at the potential of such a system in various countries but the link between spatial distribution of the stations and potential membership has not been done yet. This paper looks at this question while trying to address other limitations of the existing literature on carsharing potential. The research has two parts. In the first part, a binary logistic model of round-trip based carsharing membership in Switzerland is estimated. The model is based on a large RP dataset (the Swiss national travel diaries survey) where information on carsharing membership is collected. This provides a representative and non-biased sample. The model takes into account accessibility to carsharing at local level introducing a dependency between potential membership and actual availability of the service. The model is then run on a synthetic population representing the whole Swiss population—created based on full census data—and then validated against actual membership data of the Swiss carsharing operator Mobility. It is shown that the model estimated is able to reproduce fairly well the spatial distribution of carsharing members in Switzerland. The second part is aimed at showing that the location of stations actually impacts potential membership. To this purpose an approach to solve the problem of the optimal location of carsharing stations is proposed, where the model estimated in the first part is used as objective function of an optimization algorithm. The region surrounding the city of Zurich is taken as case study for this approach. The proposed technique is suitable to find new constellations of stations so that the number of carsharing members is incremented and can also be seen as an innovative instrument which can help in the planning of carsharing station networks.

Modeling spatio-temporal diffusion of carsharing membership in Québec City

During the last few years, car sharing has undergone significant growth, both in Canada and around the world. In this type of service, users share access to a fleet of vehicles, thereby giving them most of the advantages of automobile use, such as its temporal and spatial flexibility, without many of the constraints of ownership. This study analyzes the geographical and socio-economic factors that favour membership of a carsharing service in Québec City. We combined Cervero’s and Kockelman’s 5D model (density, diversity, design, distance to transit, and destination accessibility) with Hägerstrand’s concept of innovation diffusion so as to analyze the evolution of potential car-sharing membership. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression was used to model the spatial diffusion of the number of car-sharing members in Québec City from 1996 (two years after its inauguration) to 2008 at the local scale, with an annual time step. Results indicate that the carsharing distribution did, indeed, follow Hägerstrand’s innovation diffusion model and that, even though some of the 5D model significantly influenced membership, it was socio-economic factors (education, non-motorization, and family structure) that most greatly affected the membership rate in the service area. The model is used to assess and discuss market coverage potential in Québec City.

Assessing Impact of Carsharing on Household Car Ownership in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Carsharing is a service in which members of an organization have access to vehicles for predetermined periods of time (usually with short duration). One of the main impacts of this service in a city is said to be the reduction of car ownership. However, most studies used surveys of carsharing members to evaluate this effect, and these surveys may contain a bias because of the members’ interpretation of reality. This study proposes a first assessment of the reduction of car ownership in an area served by station-based carsharing service; the study used historical empirical data describing the population (Canadian census), typical travel behaviors, and car ownership (origin–destination surveys). Multiple regression models are used to study the relation between household and individual car ownership and exposure to carsharing, while controlling for other variables known to also influence ownership. Although more complex model formulations need to be tested to enhance the analysis, the results obtained in this analysis using linear regression models indicate that the number of shared vehicles in a 500-m radius is negatively correlated with car ownership.

Unraveling the Travel Behavior of Carsharing Members from Global Positioning System Traces

As carsharing becomes increasingly popular throughout the world, it would be of interest to understand better the underlying characteristics of the trips made by members when they use the cars. To date, few studies have reported carsharing trip details. This paper presents a methodology to analyze three components of a station-based carsharing member's journey: the locations of the stops, the attributes of the trips, and the characteristics of the trip chains. The method is based on the processing of Global Positioning System traces collected onboard car-sharing vehicles; a 5-min stop criterion is used to divide the trip chains into separate trips. The case study involves the Communauto system in the Greater Montreal area, Quebec, Canada. The study shows that carsharing members make more trips within their trip chains than typical car owners do. However, those trips are shorter and are often made for purposes other than work (shopping or visiting, for example). Members tend to maximize the use of the cars during the rental period (the members are on the move up to 50% of the time for short trip chains and 30% of the time for longer trips).

How Carsharing Affects the Travel Behavior of Households: A Case Study of Montréal, Canada

ABSTRACT Although carsharing is spreading across the world, few studies have examined its collective benefits. There is a need to analyze the socio-demographic features of users, and assess the role and impact of carsharing on the overall travel behaviors of their households. This article compares the results of two simultaneous surveys in the Montréal area: a web-based survey among carsharing users; and a regional, large-scale household travel survey. Results show a significant difference in modal split of car use between carsharing users and typical residents, for various types of households and levels of carsharing use. In all cases, carsharing members never reached the level of car use observed in the population.

Synopsis of users’ behaviour of a carsharing program: A case study in Toronto

The paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the behaviour of carsharing members through the analysis of administrative datasets of a dominant carsharing program in Toronto. The key objective of the investigation is to enhance our understanding on carsharing behaviour in the City of Toronto. Unlike other studies on carsharing, this paper intends to build a comprehensive understanding of the multiple dimensions of users’ behaviour including attitude towards environment, attitude towards safety, frequency of usage, membership duration, vehicle type choice and monthly demand, in terms of total vehicle-kilometre and vehicle-hour travel. The paper uses both descriptive and econometric approaches for in-depth investigations. One of the key contributions of the paper is linking carsharing with carbon offsetting. Investigations reveal that carsharing members are in general environmentally conscious people and are willing to pay for carbon offsetting if given an option. However, having the carbon offsetting option also encouraged a higher amount of driving per month. Results show that carsharing is most often used for off-peak period travel or on weekends, when transit service is poor and traffic congestion is low. The majority of trips made by carsharing members are short-distance trips. It is clear that carsharing is providing a segment of the population with enhanced accessibility and mobility and thus playing an important role in providing a seamless, integrated transportation service in the City of Toronto.

The Impact of Carsharing on Public Transit and Non-Motorized Travel: An Exploration of North American Carsharing Survey Data

By July 2011, North American carsharing had grown to an industry of nearly 640,000 members since its inception on the continent more than 15 years ago. Carsharing engenders changes in member travel patterns both towards and away from public transit and non-motorized modes. This study, which builds on the work of two previous studies, evaluates this shift in travel based on a 6281 respondent survey completed in late-2008 by members of major North American carsharing organizations. Across the entire sample, the results showed an overall decline in public transit use that was statistically significant, as 589 carsharing members reduced rail use and 828 reduced bus use, while 494 increased rail use and 732 increased bus use. Thus for every five members that use rail less, four members use rail more, and for every 10 members that ride a bus less, almost nine members ride the bus more. The people increasing and decreasing their transit use are fundamentally different in terms of how carsharing impacts their travel environment. This reduction, however, is also not uniform across all organizations; it is primarily driven by a minority (three of eleven) of participating organizations. At the same time, members exhibited a statistically significant increase in travel by walking, bicycling, and carpooling. Across the sample, 756 members increased walking versus a 568 decrease, 628 increased bicycling versus a 235 decrease, and 289 increased carpooling versus a decrease of 99 study participants. The authors found that 970 members reduced their auto commuting to work, while 234 increased it. Interestingly, when these shifts are combined across modes, more people increased their overall public transit and non-motorized modal use after joining carsharing than decreased it. Data collected on the commute distance of respondents found that carsharing members tend to have shorter commutes than most people living in the same zip code. The analysis also evaluates the distribution of residential population density of members and its association with average changes in driving. The analysis finds that average driving reductions are consistent across population densities up to 10,000 persons/square kilometer but become more varied at higher densities.

Carsharing Parking Policy

Carsharing provides users access to a shared vehicle fleet for short-term use throughout the day, reducing the need for private vehicles. The provision of on-street and public off-street parking dedicated to carsharing is an important policy area confronting public agencies. As of July 2009, approximately 377,600 individuals were carsharing members in North America in about 57 metropolitan areas. Seventeen jurisdictions, one state (California), and eight public transit operators in North America have formal and informal carsharing parking policies, pilot projects, and proposed legislation. These policies, projects, and proposals are reviewed in this paper, along with a framework for carsharing parking policy that reflects three levels of government support. In addition, the authors examine carsharing parking policies in three jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay Area in California that account for an estimated 50,000 carsharing members and 1,100 shared-use vehicles. Supporting this examination is an intercept survey on carsharing parking (n = 425) conducted in the Bay Area. Most people supported the conversion of some type of spaces for carsharing use, and 48% thought that carsharing organizations should compensate the city for on-street spaces. At the same time, converting most types of spaces was opposed by at least 20% of respondents. Neighborhood residents were generally more in favor of parking conversion for carsharing than people visiting the area for work or errands. Finally, a majority (61%) thought that nonprofits should have priority over for-profit organizations for carsharing spaces and should pay less than for-profit organizations.

Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Holdings

Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished in metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The new transportation landscape offers urban residents an alternative to automobility, one without car ownership. As car-sharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental effects. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). A before-and-after analytical design is established with a focus on carsharing's effects on household vehicle holdings and the aggregate vehicle population. The results show that carsharing members reduce their vehicle holdings to a degree that is statistically significant. The average number of vehicles per household of the sample drops from 0.47 to 0.24. Most of this shift constitutes one-car households becoming carless. The average fuel economy of carsharing vehicles used most often by respondents is 10 mi/gal more efficient than the average vehicle shed by respondents. The median age of vehicles shed by carsharing households is 11 years, but the distribution covers a considerable range. An aggregate analysis suggests that carsharing has taken between 90,000 and 130,000 vehicles off the road. This equates to 9 to 13 vehicles (including shed autos and postponed auto purchases) taken off the road for each carsharing vehicle.

Carsharing and the Built Environment

A geographic information system–based multivariate regression study of an urban U.S. carsharing operator compared the use of carsharing vehicles for 16 months in 2006 and 2007 to built-environment and demographic factors. Carsharing is a relatively new transportation industry in which companies provide members with short-term vehicle access from distributed neighborhood locations. The number of registered carsharing members in North America has doubled every year or two to a current level of approximately 320,000. Researchers have long supposed that public transit access is a key factor driving demand for carsharing. The results of the study, however, find an ambiguous relationship between the activity at carsharing locations and public transit access. Light rail availability is found to have a significant and positive relationship to carsharing demand. Regional rail availability is found to be weakly and negatively associated with carsharing demand, although limitations in the available data make it impossible to ascribe the observed difference to user demand, random variation, or other factors specific to the industry.

North American Carsharing

Carsharing (or short-term auto use) organizations provide members access to a fleet of shared vehicles on an hourly basis, reducing the need for private vehicle ownership. Since 1994, 50 carsharing programs have been deployed in North America–-33 are operational and 17 defunct. As of July 1, 2008, there were 14 active programs in Canada and 19 in the United States, with approximately 319,000 carsharing members sharing more than 7,500 vehicles in North America. Another six programs were planned for launching in North America by January 2009. The four largest providers in the United States and Canada support 99% and 95.2% of total membership, respectively. A 10-year retrospective examines North America's carsharing evolution from initial market entry and experimentation (1994 to mid-2002) to growth and market diversification (mid-2002 to late 2007) to commercial mainstreaming (late 2007 to present). This evolution includes increased competition, new market entrants, program consolidation, increased market diversification, capital investment, technological advancement, and greater interoperator collaboration. Ongoing growth and competition are forecast. Rising fuel costs and increased awareness of climate change likely will facilitate this expansion.

Object-Oriented Analysis of Carsharing System

Carsharing systems are gaining new members every month. However, few studies formally define the system and illustrate the systematic processing of administrative data sets to estimate indicators regarding both demand and supply objects. The first outcome of this research is the definition of the object model for a carsharing system. Rich transaction data sets, generally used for the production of monthly bills, are used to estimate indicators describing how the carsharing system is used in the Montreal area of Quebec, Canada. Indicators describing the main objects of the system—members, trip chains (transactions), cars, and stations—are estimated by using continuous data. The demand object analysis focuses on the study of members and their trip chains using the shared cars. The analysis shows that carsharing members are younger than the overall population, with an overrepresentation of 25- to 39-year-olds. The persistency of active members within the carsharing system is estimated at around 60% after 4 months and 50% after 12 months. The supply–objects analysis focuses on the study of cars and stations. Spatial dispersion of members with respect to stations used and typical use of cars is illustrated over long periods. With the increase in the number of members, transactions, cars, and stations, carsharing organizations need to find new ways to manage growth and optimize their networks. A clearer understanding of how their systems are used will help them develop enhanced planning and modeling abilities.

Where Does Carsharing Work?

A tool to assess the market potential for new carsharing operations in urban communities is examined and applied. The research is based on the analysis conducted for TCRP Report 108: Carsharing: Where and How It Succeeds. Geographic market segments in urban areas are analyzed. A geographic information system (GIS)–based analysis of 13 U.S. regions finds that neighborhood and transportation characteristics are more important indicators for carsharing success than the individual demographics of carsharing members. Results indicate that low vehicle ownership has the strongest, most consistent correlation to the amount of carsharing service in a neighborhood. Thresholds based on analysis results are outlined for low service (i.e., carsharing may be viable but limited growth can be expected) and high service (i.e., carsharing is likely to flourish). This tool to identify neighborhoods that can support carsharing is applied to a community seeking to establish a carsharing program: Austin, Texas. The analysis finds that several Austin neighborhoods have the characteristics to support carsharing (e.g., low vehicle ownership rates and high percentages of one-person households), but few Austin neighborhoods could support a high level of carsharing service.

Who Is Attracted to Carsharing?

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.

Who is Attracted to Carsharing?

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.