Vehicle ownership reduction: A comparison of one-way and two-way carsharing systems

Michiko Namazu and Hadi Dowlatabadi

Transport Policy, 2018, vol. 64, issue C, 38-50

Abstract: This paper explores how membership in different carsharing service types impacts vehicle ownership. We study the difference between carsharing services offering a one-way (free-floating) service utilizing 2-seaters (Car2go) to a two-way service utilizing a range of vehicles (Modo). By analyzing 3,405 survey responses from carsharing users in Vancouver, we found that users of both Car2go and Modo reported reduced vehicle ownership after joining a carsharing service. However, households differ both in how many cars they owned before they joined carsharing services, and how their membership was associated with further change in car ownership. The average Vancouver household owns 1.56 vehicles. According to this survey's respondents, households joining Car2go report average car ownership rates of 1.08 prior to joining up and 0.98 afterwards. Households joining Modo reduced their ownership from an average of 0.68 to 0.36 vehicles. Furthermore, Modo members were close to five times more likely to reduce car ownership compared to Car2go users. We also found that the two services are used differently. Car2go members are more likely to use the service as a complement to all modes of transportation. Modo members are more likely to use access to carsharing as a substitute for private car ownership. Analysis of expressed preferences in response to termination of access to carsharing indicates that carsharing services have been substituting mobility services previously supplied by private vehicles. The intention to gain a vehicle under the service termination was strongest among users who had both Car2go and Modo memberships. These findings show the two services are not rivals but complements providing different mobility services.

Keywords: Carsharing; Free-floating; One-way; Vehicle ownership; Shared mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (34)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X16307314
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:trapol:v:64:y:2018:i:c:p:38-50

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2017.11.001

Access Statistics for this article

Transport Policy is currently edited by Y. Hayashi

More articles in Transport Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().