Transportation Sustainability Research Center Releases Carsharing Market Outlook

February 23, 2018

The University of California, Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), a leading provider of independent shared-use mobility research, announced the release of its Carsharing Market Outlook. Dr. Susan Shaheen, a pioneer in shared mobility, and UC Berkeley’s TSRC have been tracking carsharing developments worldwide since 1997.

“Growth in carsharing membership continues across the Americas, and in this Outlook, we feature peer-to-peer carsharing for the first time,” stated Shaheen. “In 2018, we will continue to release a number of new publications on: Mobility on Demand, transportation equity in shared mobility, peer-to-peer carsharing, worldwide carsharing, and ridesourcing/transportation network company impacts.” Our new Shared Mobility Resource page can be found at: http://innovativemobility.org/?page_id=2762 

The carsharing outlook highlights the following market developments:

North American Carsharing:

·         As of January 1, 2017, 18 Canadian operators claimed 511,654 members and shared 7,412 vehicles. In the United States, 1,405,447 members shared 17,178 vehicles among 21 operators. In Mexico, 10,127 members shared 39 vehicles among one operator.
·         Between January 2016 and January 2017, carsharing membership grew 7 percent in the United States and 17 percent in Canada. Between January 2016 and January 2017, carsharing fleets decreased by 1 percent in the United States and grew by 6 percent in Canada. Fleets decreased by 44 percent in Mexico.
·         As of January 2017, U.S. member-vehicle ratios were 82:1, representing an 8.7 percent increase over the previous year. In Canada, the ratio was 69:1, representing a 10.4 percentage point increase over the previous year. In Mexico, the ratio was 260:1, representing a 130 percentage point increase over the same period.
·         In North America, seven carsharing operators were providing one-way carsharing services. As of January 2017, 38.1% of North American fleets were one-way trip capable, and 48.9% of members had access to these fleets.

 South American Carsharing:

·         As of January 1, 2017, two Brazilian operators claimed 8,200 members and shared 80 vehicles. In Chile, 1,100 members shared 50 vehicles among one operator.
·         Between January 2016 and January 2017, carsharing membership grew 154 percentage points in South America. Between January 2016 and January 2017, carsharing fleets grew 113 percentage points in South America.
·         As of January 2017, Brazilian member-vehicle ratios were 103:1, representing a 51.5 percentage point increase over the previous year. In Chile, the ratio was 22:1 during their first half-year of operations.

Peer-to-Peer Carsharing:

·         As of January 2017, there were 6 personal vehicle sharing operators in North America, with 2,904,180 members sharing 131,336 vehicles. Between January 2016 and January 2017, P2P carsharing membership and fleets increased 111 and 80 percentage points, respectively.

Recent Publications

Shaheen, Susan; Bayen, Alexandre; Cohen, Adam; Forscher, Teddy. 2018. Policy Briefs. Institute for Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley. Available at: http://innovativemobility.org/?page_id=2762 

Shaheen, Susan; Cohen, Adam; Yelchuru, Balaji; and Sarkhili, Sara. 2017. Mobility on Demand Operational Concept Report. U.S. Department of Transportation. Report # FHWA-JPO-18-611. Available at: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/34258

Shaheen, Susan; Bell, Corwin; Cohen, Adam; and Yelchuru, Balaji. 2017. Travel Behavior: Shared Mobility and Transportation Equity. U.S. Department of Transportation. Report # PL-18-007. Available at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otps/shared_use_mobility_equity_final.pdf

About Transportation Sustainability Research Center

The Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) was formed in 2006. TSRC is managed by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. TSRC uses a wide range of analysis and evaluation tools including: questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, automated data collection systems, and simulation models to collect data and perform analysis and data interpretation. The center develops impartial findings and recommendations for key issues of interest to policymakers to aid in decision making. In addition to the center’s shared mobility research, key studies include: Mobility on Demand (MOD), the future of mobility, automated vehicles, urban air mobility, ecodriving for private vehicles and freight; smart parking management for public transit and trucks, fuel cell, electric, and plug-in hybrid vehicles and infrastructure; and older mobility.

SOURCE: Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley

For further information:
Adam Cohen, Research Associate, TSRC, 661-912-2986 apcohen@berkeley.edu