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Title:

Peer-to-Peer Carsharing: Market Analysis and Potential Growth

Accession Number:

01332941

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States
Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/166466.aspx

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309167482

Abstract:

Many studies show that carsharing reduces transportation costs for a large segment of the population. Carsharing also reduces the number of private vehicles on the road because carshare members do not purchase their own cars. However, the traditional carsharing business model is difficult to scale geographically to neighborhoods with lower population densities because the operator must bear the upfront fixed cost of purchasing or leasing the vehicles in the fleet. In contrast to traditional carsharing, peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing allows car owners to convert their personal vehicles into shared cars that can be rented to other drivers on a short-term basis. This model helps to improve the situation in which most privately owned vehicles sit idle more than 90% of the day. P2P carsharing alleviates upfront costs and thus is more economically consistent with lower-density neighborhoods than is traditional carsharing. As a result, P2P carsharing provides greater potential for car accessibility than traditional carsharing does. Several new service companies are dedicated to P2P carsharing. A methodology was developed to assess the market feasibility of P2P carsharing. The methodology was applied to develop a case study of P2P carsharing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The market for P2P carsharing was found to be economically viable. However, uncertain and fragmented public policy and car insurance regimes threatened the growth and investment in P2P carsharing.

Monograph Title:

Transit 2011, Volume 2

Monograph Accession #:

01359313

Report/Paper Numbers:

11-3463

Language:

English

Authors:

Hampshire, Robert C
Gaites, Craig

Pagination:

pp 119-126

Publication Date:

2011

Serial:

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Issue Number: 2217
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

ISBN:

9780309167482

Media Type:

Print

Features:

Figures (2) ; References (20) ; Tables (3)

Geographic Terms:

Subject Areas:

Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Feb 17 2011 6:31PM

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