CarLink—A Smart Carsharing System

CarLink is the use of short-term rental vehicles and intelligent communication and reservation technologies to facilitate shared vehicle access at transit stations or other activity centers for making local trips. CarLink vehicles, owned and operated by a transit district or third-party service provider, can be used by different drivers at many locations throughout a day. Using advanced communication and reservation system technologies, they can be reserved in advance or rented automatically upon arrival at a CarLink lot. The union of “smart” or intelligent communication and reservation technologies with shared-use vehicles can provide convenient and flexible accessibility, offering both short-term, automatic services and a diverse fleet of low emission vehicles to meet the mobility needs of system users.