Skip to main content

Study finds fewer cars, improved emissions with one-way car-sharing

The University of California, Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) has released results from the first-ever study of one-way car-sharing in North America and its impact on mobility. The researchers say the findings clearly illustrate that one-way car-sharing reduces the number of cars travelling on city roads and occupying parking spaces on city streets. The study, which gathered data from nearly 9,500 North American car2go members residing in Calgary; San Diego; Seattle; Van
July 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The University of California, Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) has released results from the first-ever study of one-way car-sharing in North America and its impact on mobility.

The researchers say the findings clearly illustrate that one-way car-sharing reduces the number of cars travelling on city roads and occupying parking spaces on city streets.

The study, which gathered data from nearly 9,500 North American 4190 car2go members residing in Calgary; San Diego; Seattle; Vancouver; and Washington, DC that between two per cent to five per cent of the car2go population sold a vehicle due to car2go across the study cities. In addition, another seven per cent to 10 per cent of respondents did not acquire a vehicle due to car2go.

The study also found that each car2go vehicle removes between seven to 11 vehicles from city roads (including sold and suppressed), while one to three private vehicles were sold across the five cities per car2go vehicle. In total, car2go took an estimated 28,000-plus vehicles off of the road and reduced parking demand.

Researchers found a six per cent to 16 per cent reduction in vehicle miles travelled (VMT) across the study population (an average of 11 per cent) and a four per cent to 18 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the study population (an average of 10 per cent).

Estimates suggest that car2go's one-way car-sharing service prevented between 10 and 29 million VMT per year per city, depending on assumptions of suppressed mileage, which in turn removed between 5.5 to 12.7 metric tons of GHG emissions per car2go vehicle annually (on average).

The average age of vehicles car2go members reported selling averaged 14.4 years across all the cities, thus helping to remove more polluting vehicles with older emission systems from city streets.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Barcelona's bike share scheme a life saver
    January 26, 2012
    A recent study of the health benefits of Barcelona's Bicing communal bike share scheme, reveals it is a life-saver, responsible for saving 12 lives a year. Barcelona's community bicycle programme, Bicing, was inaugurated in March 2007. One of several schemes operated in cities around the world by Clear Channel, it has fulfilled its role of providing an efficient, ecologically friendly and critically important form of transport, helping to increase urban mobility and reduce street congestion. Clear Channel h
  • Report analyses multiple ITS projects to highlight cost and benefits
    March 16, 2015
    Every year in America cost benefit analysis is carried out on dozens of ITS installations and pilot studies and the findings, along with the lessons learned, are entered into the Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) web-based ITS Knowledge Resources database. This database holds more than 1,600 reports and periodically the USDOT reviews the material on file to draw conclusions from this wider body of evidence. It has just published one such review ITS Benefits, Costs, and Lessons Learned: 2014 Update Re
  • Carbon finance delivers critical support to mass transit schemes
    February 2, 2012
    David Crawford investigates carbon finance in transport. World Bank carbon finance grants are delivering critical support to major mass transit deployments in emerging and developing economies. Only recently operative in the transport sector, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, see panel) is designed to generate additional income streams and improve internal rates of return on projects funded from public- and private-sector sources.
  • Benefits of car share quantified
    May 21, 2012
    San Francisco Bay Area had fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less congestion in 2010 due to City CarShare's (CCS) service. According to results third-party studies and 2010 CCS data, City CarShare members saved US$82 million (over the cost of car ownership) and contributed to a greener environment by reducing 60 million pounds of CO2 emissions last year. Additionally, City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit, stated it continued to achieve financial sustainability in 2010, ensuring the 10-year old organisation