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Chapter 13Â -Â Sharing strategies: carsharing, shared micromobility (bikesharing and scooter sharing), transportation network companies, microtransit, and other innovative mobility modes
Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other mode—is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to gain short-term access to transportation modes on an “as-needed” basis. It includes various forms of carsharing, bikesharing, scooter sharing, ridesharing (carpooling and vanpooling), transportation network companies (TNCs), and microtransit. Included in this ecosystem are smartphone “apps” that aggregate and optimize these mobility options, as well as “courier network services” that provide last mile package and food delivery. This chapter describes different models that have emerged in shared mobility and reviews research that has quantified the environmental, social, and transportation-related impacts of these services
Residential On-Site Carsharing and Off-Street Parking Policy in the San Francisco Bay Area, Research Report 11-28
In light of rising motorization, transportation planners have increasingly supported alternatives to the indiscriminate use of the car. Off-street parking policy and carsharing have emerged as credible alternatives for discouraging car ownership. This report explores an initiative that could connect these policy fields and build on their synergy: the provision of on-site carsharing service in residential developments. It evaluates the performance of on-site carsharing programs in the San Francisco Bay Area by interviewing developers, planners, and carsharing service providers. Interviews were conducted in four Bay Area cities that support the provision of carsharing as an alternative to the private automobile. Based on these interviews, this report identifies the principal factors contributing to the success or failure of on-site carsharing: the unbundling status of off-street parking in residential developments; ties to off-street parking standards; financial constraints; and the level of coordination among stakeholders. The interviews revealed that on-site carsharing has been accepted by developers, planners, and service providers, particularly in densely-populated, transit-rich communities. Nevertheless, there appears to be a gap between on-site carsharing programs and off-street parking standards, and between carsharing programs and carsharing business operations. The authors recommend that a few models for establishing carsharing policy be tested: a model designed to serve high-density cities with traditional carsharing; and another designed to serve moderately-dense communities, with new carsharing options (e.g., peer-to-peer). In the case of the latter, trip reduction can be achieved through the promotion of alternative modes along major corridors
Personal vehicle sharing services in North America
Over the past three decades, carsharing has grown from a collection of local grassroots organizations into a worldwide industry. Traditional carsharing, though expanding, has a limited network of vehicles and locations. The next generation of shared-use vehicle services could overcome such expansion barriers as capital costs and land use by incorporating new concepts like personal vehicle sharing.Personal vehicle sharing provides short-term access to privately-owned vehicles. As of May 2012, there were 33 personal vehicle sharing operators worldwide, with 10 active or in pilot phase, three planned, and four defunct in North America. Due to operator non-disclosure, personal vehicle sharing member numbers are currently unknown. The authors investigated personal vehicle sharing in North America by conducting 34 expert interviews. This research explores the development of personal vehicle sharing including business models, market opportunities, and service barriers to assess its early viability as a sustainable transportation mode and to provide a foundation for future research on the topic. Personal vehicle sharing has the potential to impact the transportation sector by increasing the availability and interconnectivity among modes and providing greater alternatives to vehicle ownership in more geographic locations
Does car sharing reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Life cycle assessment of the modal shift and lifetime shift rebound effects
Car-sharing platforms provide access to a shared rather than a private fleet
of automobiles distributed in the region. Participation in such services
induces changes in mobility behaviour as well as vehicle ownership patterns
that could have positive environmental impacts. This study contributes to the
understanding of the total mobility-related greenhouse gas emissions reduction
related to business-to-consumer car-sharing participation. A comprehensive
model which takes into account distances travelled annually by the major urban
transport modes as well as their life-cycle emissions factors is proposed, and
the before-and-after analysis is conducted for an average car-sharing member in
three geographical cases (Netherlands, San Francisco, Calgary). In addition to
non-operational emissions for all the transport modes involved, this approach
considers the rebound effects associated with the modal shift effect
(substituting driving distances with alternative modes) and the lifetime shift
effect for the shared automobiles, phenomena which have been barely analysed in
the previous studies. As a result, in contrast to the previous impact
assessments in the field, a significantly more modest reduction of the annual
total mobility-related life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions caused by
car-sharing participation has been estimated, 3-18% for three geographical case
studies investigated (versus up to 67% estimated previously). This suggests the
significance of the newly considered effects and provides with the practical
implications for improved assessments in the future.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures (in the end of the file
Migrating towards Using Electric Vehicles in Fleets – Proposed Methods for Demand Estimation and Fleet Design
Carsharing and electric vehicles have emerged as sustainable transportation alternatives to mitigate transportation, environmental, and social issues in cities. This dissertation combines three correlated topics: carsharing feasibility, electric vehicle carsharing fleet optimization, and efficient fleet management. First, the potential demand for electric vehicle carsharing in Beijing is estimated using data from a survey conducted the summer of 2013 in Beijing. This utilizes statistical analysis method, binary logit regression. Secondly, a model was developed to estimate carsharing mode split by the function of utilization and appropriate carsharing fleet size was simulated under three different fleet types: an EV fleet with level 2 chargers, an EV fleet with level 3 chargers, and a gasoline vehicle fleet. This study also performs an economic analysis to determine the payback period for recovering the initial EV charging infrastructure costs. Finally, this study develops a fleet size and composition optimization model with cost constraints for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville motor pool fleet. This will help the fleet manage efficiently with minimum total costs and greater demand satisfaction. This dissertation can help guide future sustainable transportation planning and policy
Air emissions impacts of modal diversion patterns induced by one-way car sharing: A case study from the city of Turin
This paper aims to understand to which extent the spread of one-way car sharing in an urban area can contribute to limit air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions by diverting trips from existing travel means. Modal switch models informed the definition of five mobility scenarios in the city of Turin (Italy). Related emissions were quantified to understand how to maximise the positive environmental impacts of car sharing. Models’ results indicate that the car sharing modal share might increase up to a maximum of 10%. The diverted travel demand is mainly subtracted from private cars, however environmental benefits are partially offset by switches from public transport and active modes. The planning scenario would lead to a reduction of the externalities related to the emissions produced by the whole transport system of 1% in terms of social costs. Such benefits can be increased up to 3.6% by promoting electric car sharing fleets
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