Impact of Carsharing on Household Vehicle Holdings: Results from North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey
Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished in metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The new transportation landscape offers urban residents an alternative to automobility, one without car ownership. As carsharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental effects. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). A before-and-after analytical design is established with a focus on carsharing’s effects on household vehicle holdings and the aggregate vehicle population. The results show that carsharing members reduce their vehicle holdings to a degree that is statistically significant. The average number of vehicles per household of the sample drops from 0.47 to 0.24. Most of this shift constitutes one-car households becoming carless. The average fuel economy of carsharing vehicles used most often by respondents is 10 mi/gal more efficient than the average vehicle shed by respondents. The median age of vehicles shed by carsharing households is 11 years, but the distribution covers a considerable range. An aggregate analysis suggests that carsharing has taken between 90,000 and 130,000 vehicles off the road. This equates to 9 to 13 vehicles (including shed autos and postponed auto purchases) taken off the road for each carsharing vehicle.
- Record URL:
- Summary URL:
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/Transit_2010_Volume_1_164291.aspx
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Authors:
- Martin, Elliot
- Shaheen, Susan A
- Lidicker, Jeffrey
- Publication Date: 2010
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 150-158
- Monograph Title: Transit 2010, Volume 1
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Issue Number: 2143
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0361-1981
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Before and after studies; Environmental impacts; Fuel consumption; Surveys; Vehicle sharing
- Geographic Terms: North America
- Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01150958
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 9780309142908
- Report/Paper Numbers: 10-3437
- Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Jan 25 2010 11:44AM