01557665

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2536-04

In recent years, carsharing has become a practical, ecological, and economical alternative to private car ownership around the world. Traditional carsharing is station-based, but new types of shared services have appeared recently. One of those is free-floating carsharing. It is more flexible, but what is its impact on user behavior? This paper aims to characterize the use of the free-floating carsharing service in central Montreal, Canada. Use of the traditional, station-based service and the new service was compared. Because some people were members of both services, it was possible to examine the specific contribution of each service to meeting travel needs. The impact of the introduction of this new transportation alternative was also examined. The results showed that compared with traditional carsharing, more women were members of the free-floating service and the trip distances and durations were much shorter. Shopping was the most important activity, and there was a concentration of trip ends near the central business district in the midday period. When asked what mode users would have used in the absence of the free-floating service, people mentioned public transit, taxis, and walking; the popularity of these alternatives varied, probably in relation to seasonal changes. Further studies are required to measure the environmental impact of this new transportation mode.

01578186

15-3865

English

pp 28–36

2015

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309369107

Print

Figures (7) ; Maps; References (26)

Automobiles; Case studies; Gender; Global Positioning System; Reservations; Shopping trips; Travel behavior; Trip distribution; Vehicle sharing

Montreal (Canada)

Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I90: Vehicles

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Dec 30 2014 1:16PM

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