Access Over Ownership: On Supportive Conditions for Scaling Up Carsharing

Abstract

The current transportation system is based heavily on private car ownership and fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. This dependence results in environmental, economic and social problems. Replacing ownership with temporary access can be part of a transition towards a more sustainable mobility system. This thesis explores the concept of carsharing and under which conditions it can scale up. The different forms of carsharing are studied and their success, diffusion as well as adoption by users is compared, strategies around access-based business models are examined and policy measures supporting carsharing are analyzed. The thesis shows that sustainability transitions cannot build solely on technological innovation, but also require disruptive new services and business models. It is shown that carsharing can best scale up as part of a multi-modal mobility system where it is integrated in a service with other transport modes.