Car-sharing in cities: will electric vehicles change the business? A comparison between France and Japan

Abstract:

Car sharing systems are now developing fast in many cities, as alternatives to car use. The implementation of these systems can come from private initiatives or can be linked to promotion by local authorities, in order to encourage people to change the travel behavior. In some cases, many companies compete on the same territory, while in other cities there is a unique operator. In the same way, operation can differ, depending on the location of the stations, the type of pricing, the diversity of the car fleet, or agreements with public transport companies. Present experiences show that the profitability of this activity needs a certain size (numbers of customers, size of the fleet, number of stations), which encourages some concentration of companies or the development of agreements between them. The merge of electric vehicles could change the situation. Car sharing appears to be a good opportunity for the visibility of electric cars (showcases), and can be adapted for small clean trips in the city. In Japan, as well as in European countries, many companies are appearing to propose e-car sharing services, with the development of recharging stations for EVs parking. Bur often, these vehicles are small ones and will not satisfy the diversity of the demand of customers. Based on some cases in France and Japan, the paper will discuss the consequences of introducing EVs for car-sharing, on the nature of the market (type of uses), trying to make the balance between advantages of clean vehicles and the trip demand from citizens.

Full Text:

Car sharing systems are now developing fast in many cities, as alternatives to car use. The implementation of these systems can come from private initiatives or can be linked to promotion by local authorities, in order to encourage people to change the travel behavior. In some cases, many companies compete on the same territory, while in other cities there is a unique operator. In the same way, operation can differ, depending on the location of the stations, the type of pricing, the diversity of the car fleet, or agreements with public transport companies. Present experiences show that the profitability of this activity needs a certain size (numbers of customers, size of the fleet, number of stations), which encourages some concentration of companies or the development of agreements between them.
The merge of electric vehicles could change the situation. Car sharing appears to be a good opportunity for the visibility of electric cars (showcases), and can be adapted for small clean trips in the city. In Japan, as well as in European countries, many companies are appearing to propose e-car sharing services, with the development of recharging stations for EVs parking. Bur often, these vehicles are small ones and will not satisfy the diversity of the demand of customers.
Based on some cases in France and Japan, the paper will discuss the consequences of introducing EVs for car-sharing, on the nature of the market (type of uses), trying to make the balance between advantages of clean vehicles and the trip demand from citizens.