Shared Mobility

Travel Effects of a Suburban Commuter Carsharing Service: CarLink Case Study

Susan Shaheen
Rodier, Caroline J.
2005

Since 1998, carsharing programs (or short-term auto rentals) in the U.S. have experienced exponential membership growth. As of July 2003, 15 carsharing organizations collectively claimed 25,727 members and 784 vehicles. Given this growing demand, decision makers and transit operators are increasingly interested in understanding the potential for carsharing services to increase transit use, reduce auto ownership, and lower vehicle miles traveled. However, to date, there is only limited evidence of potential program effects in the U.S. and Europe. This paper presents the travel effects of...

Framework for Testing Innovative Transportation Solutions: Case Study of Carlink, a Commuter Carsharing Program

Susan Shaheen
Novick, Linda
2005

Transit accounts for just two percent of total travel in the U.S. One reason for low ridership is limited access; many individuals either live or work too far from a transit station. In developing transit connectivity solutions, researchers often employ a range of study instruments, such asstated-preference surveys, focus groups, and pilot programs. To better understand response to one innovative transit solution, the authors employed a number of research tools, including: a longitudinal survey, field test, and pilot program. The innovation examined was a commutercarsharing model, called...

Carsharing in North America: Market Growth, Current Developments, and Future Potential

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam P.
Roberts, J. Darius
2006

Carsharing provides members access to a fleet of autos for short-term use throughout the day, reducing the need for one or more personal vehicles. Over ten years ago, carsharing operators began to appear in North America. Since 1994, a total of 40 programs have been deployed—28 are operating in 36 urban areas and 12 are now defunct. Another four are planned to launch in the next year. This paper examines carsharing growth potential in North America, based on a survey of 26 existing organizations conducted from April to July 2005. Since the mid-1990s, the number of members and vehicles...

Carsharing and Station Cars in Asia: Overview of Japan and Singapore

Barth, Matthew
Susan Shaheen
Fukuda, Tuenjai
Fukuda, Atsushi
2006

In recent years there has been significant worldwide activity in shared-use vehicle systems (i.e., carsharing and station cars). Much of this activity is taking place in Europe and North America; however, there has also been significant activity in Asia, primarily in Japan and Singapore. This paper examines the latest shared-use vehicle system activities in both of these countries, beginning with an historical review followed by an evaluation of their current systems. Overall there are several well-established systems in both Japan (approximately 18 systems, 150 vehicles, 3000 members) and...

Carsharing Continues to Gain Momentum

Susan Shaheen
2006

With auto ownership and fuel costs rising, people everywhere are seeking alternatives to private vehicle ownership. Car-sharing (or short-term vehicle rentals) provides such an alternative through hourly rates and subscription-access plans, especially for individuals and businesses in major cities with good access to other transportation modes, such as transit and carpooling.The principle of car-sharing is simple: individuals gain the benefits of private vehicle use without the costs and responsibilities of owner- ship. People involved in this typically join an organization that...

Growth in Worldwide Carsharing: An International Comparison

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam P.
2007

Carsharing (or short-term auto use) provides a flexible alternative that meets diverse transportation needs across the globe while reducing the negative impacts of private vehicle ownership. Although carsharing appeared in Europe between the 1940s and 1980s, the concept did not become popularized until the early 1990s. For nearly 20 years, worldwide participation in carsharing has been growing. Today, carsharing operates in approximately 600 cities around the world, in 18 nations and on 4 continents. Approximately 348,000 individuals share nearly 11,700 vehicles as part of organized...

Carsharing and the Built Environment: Geographic- Information System-Based Study of One U.S Operator

Stillwater, Tai
Mokhtarian, Patricia L.
Susan Shaheen
2009

The use of carsharing vehicles over a period of 16 months in 2006-07 was compared to built environment and demographic factors in this GIS-based multivariate regression study of an urban U.S. carsharing operator. Carsharing is a relatively new transportation industry in which companies provide members with short-term vehicle access from distributed neighborhood locations. The number of registered carsharing members in North America has doubled every year or two to a current level of approximately 320,000. Researchers have long supposed that public transit access is a key factor driving...

North American Carsharing: A Ten Year Retrospective

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam P.
Chung, Melissa S.
2009

Carsharing organizations (or short-term auto use) provide members access to a fleet of shared vehicles on an hourly basis, reducing the need for private vehicle ownership. This paper reflects a ten-year retrospective of carsharing in Canada and the United States (U.S.), including resultsfrom a 2008 operator survey. Since 1994, a total of 50 carsharing programs have been deployed in North America33 are operational, and 17 are defunct. As of July 1, 2008, there were 14 active programs in Canada and 19 in the U.S., with approximately 319,000 carsharing memberssharing over 7,500 vehicles in...

Carsharing Parking Policy: Review of North American Practices and San Francisco, California, Bay Area Case Study

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam
Martin, Elliot
2010

Carsharing provides users access to a shared vehicle fleet for short-term use throughout the day, reducing the need for private vehicles. The provision of on-street and public off-street parking dedicated to carsharing is an important policy area confronting public agencies. As of July 2009, approximately 377,600 individuals were carsharing members in North America in about 57 metropolitan areas. A total of 17 jurisdictions, one state (California), and eight public transit operators in North America have formal and informal carsharing parking policies, pilot projects, and proposed...

Carsharing's Impact on Household Vehicle Holdings: Results from a North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey

Martin, Elliot
Susan Shaheen
Lidicker, Jeffrey
2010

Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished within metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The result has been a new transportation landscape, which offers urban residents an alternative to automobility without carownership. As carsharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental impacts. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). The authors establish a “before-and-after” analytical design with a focus oncarsharing’s impacts on household...