Product Service System Innovation in the Smart City

Product service systems (PSS) may usefully form part of the mix of innovations necessary to move society toward more sustainable futures. However, despite such potential, PSS implementation is highly uneven and limited. Drawing on an alternate socio-technical perspective of innovation, this paper provides fresh insights, on among other things the role of context in PSS innovation, to address this issue. Case study research is presented focusing on a use orientated PSS in an urban environment: the Copenhagen city bike scheme. The paper shows that PSS innovation is a situated complex process, shaped by actors and knowledge from other locales. It argues that further research is needed to investigate how actors interests shape PSS innovation. It recommends that institutional spaces should be provided in governance landscapes associated with urban environments to enable legitimate PSS concepts to co-evolve in light of locally articulated sustainability principles and priorities

Qualitative insights into the effect on travel behavior of joining a carshare

Carsharing organizations (carshares) provide collectively available vehicles that can be booked for exclusive use on a pay-as-you-go basis. Previous research has shown that two groups join carshares: (a) accessors, who do not have a car when they join the carshare and therefore gain access to one, and (b) shedders, who give up a car when they join the carshare. The paper examines the circumstances and motivations that cause accessors and shedders to join a carshare, the changes in their travel behavior in the short and longer run, and how the travel behavior might have changed if the carshare had not been joined. These objectives were achieved through in-depth interviews with 16 members of a carshare in Bath, United Kingdom. The interviewed members were selected to achieve a mix of accessors, shedders, recent members, and longstanding members. It was found that carshare attracted people who were already contemplating giving up their cars or who had been triggered by life events to consider giving up their cars. Joining a carshare prevented the acquisition of cars for some members, but some subsequently took opportunities to acquire a car as their circumstances changed. Once shedders became members, they adapted to managing without a personal car, used a variety of transport modes, planned their activity-travel schedules in advance, and took into account the costs and convenience of different options. The increasing popularity of new mobility options, such as carsharing, also has implications for the methods used to analyze and model travel behavior. The option of joining a carshare and using carshare vehicles should be included in transport models for areas in which carshares operate

China's Hangzhou Public Bicycle

Over the past 20 years, China has experienced a steady decline in bicycle use. To address this trend, China's central and local government for urban transportation created the "Public Transit Priority" to encourage public transport initiatives. As part of this effort, the Hangzhou government launched “Hangzhou Public Bicycle” in 2008. This service allows members to access a shared fleet of bicycles. As of March 2011, it operated 60,600 bicycles with 2,416 fixed stations in eight core districts.To understand factors leading to bikesharing adoption and barriers to adoption, the authors conducted an intercept survey in Hangzhou between January and March 2010. Two separate questionnaires were issued to bikesharing members and non-members to identify key differences and similarities between these groups. In total, 806 surveys were completed, including 666 members and 140 non-members. The authors found that bikesharing is capturing modal share from bus transit, walking, autos, and taxis. Approximately 30% of members had incorporated bikesharing into their most common commute. Members indicated that they most frequently used a bikesharing station closest to either home (40%) or work (40%). These modal shifts suggest that bikesharing acts as both a competitor and a complement to existing public transit. Members exhibited a higher rate of auto ownership in comparison to non-members, suggesting that bikesharing is attractive to car owners. Recommendations for improving bikesharing in Hangzhou include: adding stations and real-time bike/parking availability technologies, improving bike maintenance and locking mechanisms, and extending operational hours