Peer-to-Peer Carsharing: Exploring Public Perception and Market Characteristics in the San Francisco Bay Area, California

Peer-to-peer carsharing is an innovative approach to vehicle sharing in which vehicle owners temporarily rent their personal automobiles to others in their surrounding area. Peer-to-peer carsharing belongs to the larger sharing economy, an economic model premised on the notion of collaborative consumption as opposed to ownership. This study examined public perception of peer-to-peer carsharing and potential market characteristics through an intercept survey conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Three hundred respondents from 14 locations in San Francisco (n = 150) and Oakland (n = 150), California, were polled on their existing attitudes toward and perceptions of classic carsharing, peer-to-peer carsharing, and the sharing economy. The survey results indicate that there remains a low awareness of peer-to-peer carsharing, with fewer than 50% of San Francisco respondents and 25% of Oakland respondents having heard of the term. Approximately 25% of surveyed vehicle owners would be willing to share their personal vehicles through peer-to-peer carsharing, citing liability and trust concerns as primary deterrents. Those who drove almost every day were less open to renting through peer-to-peer, while those who used public transit at least once per week expressed a greater interest in it. Overall, the results of this study indicate considerable interest in peer-to-peer carsharing: 60% of San Francisco respondents and 75% of Oakland respondents without vehicle access would consider renting a peer-to-peer vehicle. The top three reasons for using peer-to-peer carsharing are convenience and availability, monetary savings, and expanded mobility options. Further outreach and education are needed to raise awareness of this mobility innovation.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2416-04
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Peer-to-Peer+Carsharing%3A+Exploring+Public+Perception+and+Market+Characteristics+in+the+San+Francisco+Bay+Area%2C+California&author=I.+Ball%C3%BAs-Armet&author=S.+Shaheen&author=K.+Clonts&author=D.+Weinzimmer&publication_year=2014
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/171450.aspx
• Authors:
  • Ballús-Armet, Ingrid
  • Shaheen, Susan A
  • Clonts, Kelly
  • Weinzimmer, David
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: pp 27–36
• Monograph Title: Transit 2014, Volume 2: Carsharing, Taxis, and Automated Transport
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2416
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic and social factors; Market assessment; Mobility; Public opinion; Surveys; Vehicle sharing
• Geographic Terms: Oakland (California); San Francisco (California); San Francisco Bay Area
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01519836
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309295116
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-4286
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 26 2014 10:11AM