Analyzing Sustainable Transport：Car sharing.
I. Car sharing.
Car sharing is a car rental model that allows people to rent a vehicle for a short period of time, usually by the hour or by the number of days. The main target group is people who occasionally need to use a car, and they are willing to use different types of vehicles for a short time, rather than owning a private car for a long time, partly because there is no exclusive parking space in the place where they live. Another part of the reason is that some office workers, driving during commuting time will lead to difficult parking, they only need a car for commuting, through this service can be more efficient and convenient to use the car. The rental service is now available in more than 1,000 cities around the world, allowing people to share vehicles.
Figure-1: Example Flexcar location in Atlanta, GA, USA (NE corner of 5th St. & Spring St.)
2.Pros and cons of car sharing：
Some car sharing businesses are partnered with local car rental companies to provide customers with the most objective prices. It also provides a solution for people who travel, carry large items, or need a car for some special occasions. It also provides an option for families with multiple drivers who don’t want to buy a lot of cars. Robert Cervello, a professor of urban regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley, who has long studied ride-sharing in cities, found that 30 percent of homeowners had joined the car sale, or delayed buying one. The number of people using public transport, cycling and walking is also increasing.
Car sharing generally doesn’t reduce costs much for full-time commuters. Car-sharing operators have calculated that people who don’t drive regularly or drive less than 10,000 kilometers (about 6,200 miles) a year can benefit more from carpooling than from buying a private car. But the 50 percent change in the figure is reported by car-sharing operators and others based on local conditions. If the cost of occasional carpooling is much lower than private cars, it will be more convenient for low-income families.
Figure-2: A LAX CarShare vehicle at Union Station, Los Angeles, CA. 《Car Sharing.Network》
3.How does car sharing work?
Car-sharing operations vary widely, from simple manual systems using key boxes and log sheets to increasingly sophisticated computer systems and accompanying software that can handle a growing array of back-office procedures. The simplest car-sharing operation booking process is still relatively convenient, first, someone determined to book the car; Through the company, reservations can be made online, by phone or by SMS. Car sharing according to the needs of the crowd to log in to the website to book the car, the website according to the leasing conditions of the crowd, to find the right car, including the model, the lease validity time, the location of the network and other information. After that, check or verify the relevant information at the self-service terminal of the rental point, and swipe the card to pick up the car.
Figure-3: Flexcar (carsharing) booth at University District Street Fair, University District, Seattle, Washington.《What is Car Sharing and How Does it Work?》
4.Dedicated public charging stations.
Public mobile charging piles are playing an increasingly important role in today’s society. With the popularity of electric vehicles and the increase in market demand, the construction and use of public mobile charging piles is developing rapidly, public mobile charging piles are devices that provide charging services for electric vehicles, they are usually set in public places, such as parking lots, shopping centers, hotels and other places. Public mobile charging piles not only provide charging services for electric vehicles, but also provide charging convenience and travel guarantee for the users of the driving crowd. In contrast, private charging stations can only provide services for home or business users and cannot meet the huge demand for charging by the public. Not only that, public mobile charging piles also promote the promotion of green travel methods. Because electric vehicles use electricity instead of fuel, they can significantly reduce environmental pollution. Every year, the traditional fuel vehicles replaced by electric vehicles can save millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and play an important role in improving the quality of the atmospheric environment. To better support this, many large cities offer free or cheap public charging services to encourage people to buy and use electric vehicles.
Figure-4: Three converted Prius Plug-In Hybrids Charging at San Francisco City Hall public recharging station.《Car-Sharing》
Reference:
Shaheen, S., and Cohen, A. (2013). Carsharing and Personal Vehicle Services: Worldwide Market Developments and Emerging Trends. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 7:1, 5-34.
R. Meijkamp, “Changing Consumer Behavior through Eco-efficient Services: An Empirical Study of Car Sharing in the Netherlands,” Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol.7, No.4, pp. 234-244, 1998.
E. Martin, S. Shaheen, and J. Lidicker, “The Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Holdings: Results from a North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey,” Transportation Research Record: J. of the Transportation Research Board, Vol.2143, No.1, pp. 150-158, 2010.
