Going Dutch A New Moment For Carsharing in The Netherlands
Going Dutch A New Moment For Carsharing in The Netherlands
Going Dutch A New Moment For Carsharing in The Netherlands
Going Dutch
eric britton
ecoplan international
07-Oct-14
GOING DUTCH
Abstract
This thinkpiece informs local and national government on latest developments in the fast-growing
field of carsharing, in an attempt to put this relatively recent concept into a broader strategic
planning frame. Carsharing has over the last decade proven itself to be an effective transport option
which is, or at least should be, a key element of an integrated mobility strategy for people and for
cities. It is a thrifty transport mode and is largely self-financing. People choose to carshare because
they see it as a better way to get around for a portion of their daily trips. Properly positioned it
offers real potential for energy savings, pollution reduction, and reduced requirement for expensive
public investments in infrastructure to support cars or conventional public transport.
Until recently however the sector has been largely neglected by national governments -- and has for
the most part been treated on an ad hoc basis, if at all, by, the cities and villages who are the
primary beneficiaries and partners.. This report is also intended to be useful to the international
reader wishing to know more about progress in the Netherlands, on the grounds that the Dutch are
among the world leaders in the field. But this should be seen as a beginning, and not as an end. This
is a new moment for carsharing in the Netherlands. The work lies ahead.
Cover page photo: shows the worlds first full-function operating technology-based carshare
systems, the ingenious electric Witkar, which was developed in Amsterdam and operated
successfully for four thousand subscribers on the city streets from 1974 to 1986. It makes
one wonder why we lost a generation when we already had this fine example to build on
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KpVV: (Kennisplatform Verkeer en Vervoer --Knowledge Platform for Mobility and Transport).
Supports local and regional authorities in their efforts to develop and implement mobility and
transport policy by providing practical know-how, reports, guidelines, meetings, and networks.
Contact: Friso Metz. Project manager mobiliteits management. Jaarbeursplein 22, Utrecht
http://www.kpvv.nl T +31 (0)30 291 8209. Skype: kkpvmetz
Document center: http://www.crow.nl/vakgebieden/verkeer-en-vervoer/bibliotheek
EcoPlan: An independent advisory network and NGO providing strategic counsel for government and
industry in the areas of economic development, sustainable transport and sustainable cities.
Publisher of World Streets: the Politics of Transport in Cities.
Contact: Eric Britton, MD. EcoPlan International. 9, rue Gabillot, 69003 Lyon France
T. +336 5088 0787 Skype: newmobility E. eric.britton@ecoplan.org
Project support: http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/tag/xcar
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CONTENTS
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
12
1.
13
2.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
26
Endogenous Changes
27
28
29
32
33
34
40
41
42
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43
44
Agenda
45
46
47
49
5. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
50
International Organizations
51
52
56
59
63
64
65
65
66
5. Pioneer cities
66
6. Rural Carsharing
66
67
67
68
ANNEXES
69
70
73
74
75
76
77
78
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PREFACE
CROW-KpVV commissioned this independent study and commentary on the
prospects of carsharing both in general and in particular in cities and
outlying areas in the Netherlands because we are already seeing rapid
developments in the field. At the same time we are seeing some surprising
trends for new forms of carsharing that are clearly going to require some
adjustments in strategy both at the national level and in particular at the
level of local government.
Most governments around the world have neglected these issues for a long
time, on the grounds that they appear to be quite small and mainly local. Beyond this they fall
outside of the normal scope of traditional transportation policies and concerns. However as you will
see in these pages, the situation is changing rapidly, and quite possibly more rapidly in the
Netherlands and in most other parts of the world.
Over the last 10 years CROW-KpVV has quite systematically kept our eyes on the balance in the field,
but after a long period of steady growth and changes, we are finding ourselves facing many
questions, both strategic and operational, which require us to look again and more closely this time.
Against this background we asked a highly recognized international expert on carsharing and new
mobility policy more generally, Eric Britton, managing director of EcoPlan International in Paris and
Founding Editor of World Streets and the Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice, to have a
fresh look and share his views and vision on how cities should deal with carsharing, and beyond that
the broader ongoing shift from car ownership to car use. You will see the results of his analysis and
recommendations in the pages that follow.
I believe that this independent analysis and commentary could not come at a better time when we
at the CROW-KpVV and other concerned national and local organizations are carrying out other
investigations on this policy topic which represents a field growing rapidly and in many in surprising
ways. The first round of studies are underway and results will be out this fall.
We now have to move from his vision to ours. We will be giving careful attention to his views and
recommendations, but our immediate next step is to translate all of this into a practical framework
for effective citywide policies, including parking regulations and communications.
Heres his vision. Be inspired! And for us here, it is time for us to get to work.
Wim van Tilburg, Director
CROW-KpVV
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Toward the end of 2013 I found myself engaged in a series of discussions about the unfolding and
uncertain future of transport and the environment with Mr. Friso Metz, manager of the new mobility
project of a think-tank of the Dutch government, the Transport Knowledge Resource Center (KpVV).
And since I have for some years have a strong interest in our changing attitudes and practices in
terms of owning and using cars (normally the flip side of sustainable transport), our conversations
quickly lead us to consider to the many and surprising developments in the fast-changing world of
carsharing, an area of particular interest of his group which they have been charting for some years.
After a round of exchanges, Mr. Metz eventually invited me to take a role in an open free-form
brainstorming process with them over 2014. My job would be to report to the group independently
on what I as a long-term observer think is going on in the field broadly defined -- the idea being
hopefully to come up with some information and insights which might be useful for public policy
purposes the Netherlands. Very quickly we agreed that as far as public institutions are concerned the
ones that held the most immediate key to success were cities and local governments.
The CROW/KpVV team have given me free license to report on my findings and observations,
eventually in the form of two printed reports, of which this is the second[1]. An important part of this
process involves a series of workshops, interviews, working papers and exchanges with a broad cross
section of actors and skilled observers in both the Netherlands and in the other leading sources of
information and experience, most of which in Europe. This process was meticulously informed and
guided by Friso Metz from beginning to end, for which I am most grateful.
Here you have the fruit of my learning and reflection over these last months. And while I cannot
fairly saddle them with responsibility for what you will find here, I must acknowledge my debt of
thanks to all those who took the time and trouble to share their views and counsel with me a note. If
you turn to the closing Annex in this report, you will find a listing of those who have been
particularly generous in sharing their ideas and critical remarks and visions with me.
Let me end this introduction with a personal note of thanks to the genius of one Luud
Schimmelpennink, a Dutchman who showed the world a full generation ago that carsharing can
work in cities. I will never understand why it took the world so long to understand the power of your
ideas, but I can say that we all owe you a lot. Thank you Luud for getting there first.
Eric Britton
Lyon, 5 October2014
[1]
The first being the May 2014 Report on the Utrecht Cities Workshop, available at http://goo.gl/
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On the whole, you find wealth much more in use than in ownership. Aristotle
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This is a report about carsharing, an alternative and not always very well understood way to own
and operate a car which has a history going back to the years immediately after the Second World
War (see following timeline). The global goal of this open collaborative project is to work up a
broader context for looking at and understanding the sector, and within the broadest possible
international perspective to look specifically at the evolution in the Netherlands over the last 50
years. Within this context the immediate objective is to inform local and national government
concerning strategies and ways for supporting more and better carsharing, on the assumption that
this is going to serve not just one but a number of important goals.
This year hundreds if not thousands of articles and reports will be written on our topic from a wide
variety of perspectives: places, approaches, time horizons, technology, commercial, institutional,
social, environmental and other. In many of these reports will present scenarios and predictions (and
thats what they are!) which put before the reader specific quantitative calculations, often by year,
place and even technology or operational approach. That is not the objective of the present report.
The starting place chosen here to set the stage is the planet and the world climate emergency -- and
with it the dire and immediate challenges of significant environmental reductions and absolutely
essential resource economies. As you will see, the planet turns out a good place to start both from
the vantage of overall transport policy, and specifically in our case carsharing, because a viable
climate strategy provides clear guidelines for public policy in our sector.
In the transport sector we know for sure that we urgently need to do what we can to reduce traffic,
lighten land use impacts, improve systemic efficiency, increase equity, and cut back the resource
take of our mobility arrangements, without if at all possible impacting negatively on life quality and
freedom of choice in our democratic societies.
The fact is that carsharing, got right, turns out to be one of the numerous ways that need to be
combined into an overall, planet-respectful, fair, efficient and economic mobility package. People
choose to carshare not because they are obliged to, but because it offers a choice. They do it
because they see it as a better, more economical way to get around for a portion of their trips.
Properly positioned it has been shown that carsharing can offer significant potential for energy
savings, pollution reduction, space savings on the street, and reduced requirement for expensive
public investments in infrastructure to support cars and/or conventional public transport. However
in the last several years the sector has begun to change in some unexpected ways.
Carsharing is a promising option because it essentially dematerializes the transport function,
taking us from our century-old concentration on possession of vehicles to the provision of high
quality mobility services. And this, dematerialization, is of course one of the central trends of the
present century which extends way beyond transport or carsharing.
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* * *
In 2014 carsharing has progressed to the point where it now needs to be considered as one fully
operational mobility mode among others. It is no longer a marginal curiosity or distant future
prospect. It is part of a greater whole: our cities evolving, efficient and equitable multi-part 21st
century sustainable transportation systems.
After several decades of at first gradual and then increasingly rapid development the carshare sector
has in the last years matured considerably and has arrived at a situation in which there are today
thousands of carsharing operations on the streets in cities, towns and even rural areas around the
world. Moreover, these operations are for the most part increasingly larger, better funded and more
visible mobility options. In a phrase, carsharing has come out of the closet.
Just as we have to plan for, stimulate and integrate the full range of other 21st-century mobility
modes, including public transit in all its diverse and improved forms, private and other bus services,
pedestrian policies, provision for safe and abundant cycling, emergency services, freight and goods
delivery, and not to forget taxis in all their exploding variants, time policies (e.g. peak spreading),
telework, e-mobility and parking (yes parking is a transport mode) -- so too do our cities need
guidelines for the development of carsharing
City and local governments need to have well-thought-out integrated strategies for dealing with this
emerging array of mobility services, which as we are seeing is far broader than was until very
recently thought to be the case. However the vast majority of local governments around the world,
including cities that may be doing well in other new mobility areas, still do not have coherent
strategic plans worked out to guide carshare developments in their communities. In a phrase, they
are not planning, they are reacting when the occasion arises.
The task is made more difficult because practices in the sector have in the last several years starting
to explode as new technologies and operating strategies have come in to challenge and transform
the established carsharing model, namely that of an organization either in the public or private
sector that undertakes in some form of contractual arrangement with the city to provide and
coordinate these services, for the most part to individual subscribers.
Under these circumstances it is important that our cities transport strategies take into account the
full range and dynamism of these developments which are transforming the sector, and in turn the
cities themselves.
For governments, carsharing also fits in their broader needs and trends, such as:
Urban mobility policies are shifting from accommodating cars and traffic. Instead the focus is
put towards creating attractive cities where its agreeable and efficient to live. This trend is
reflected in the EU attention to SUMPs (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans).
Energy and climate targets. For the Netherlands, the Energy agreement by the Social
Economic Board (SER) is relevant. Mobility is a topic within the agreement. By international
commitment the transport sector in the Netherlands has to show a 60% reduction of CO2
emissions by 2050.
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The SER aims at 100.000 shared cars in 2020 with very low emissions on average. While its
difficult to interpret this as a strict target, its relevant that carsharing is mentioned as a
solution.
Cities as well as the national government are starting to notice that carsharing is growing into
something they have to pay attention to. Thats positive, but it also comes with a myriad of
questions. Asking and discussing this is why CROW-KpVV launched this collaborative project in the
first place. It will now continue with workshops and collaborative programs with the goal of getting
full value from this interesting new way of getting around.
* * *
From a policy perspective the last two chapters set out a number of observations, conclusions and
recommendations which are aimed specifically at the government sponsors and others concerned
with the development of the sector. What these recommendations have in common is that they not
only show a variety of ways in which the carshare agenda can be advanced in the Netherlands, but
also identify strategies and specific projects which can be carried out with relatively quickly and with
very modest budgets.
The author of this report insists on literally translating the title of the immediate sponsor of the
project, which in Dutch is Kennisplatform Verkeer en Vervoer (KpVV), as Knowledge Platform for
Mobility and Transport, which in his views works very well in terms of the recommendation set out
here, which is to create not one but a number of knowledge platforms for carsharing to
accompany the necessary development of the sector in cities and even outlying areas across the
Netherlands.
Carsharing prospers not because it sucks up enormous amounts of hard-earned taxpayer
contributions, but because it uses knowledge to unleash the entrepreneurial forces of both the
public, and private sectors, as well as civil society which, as always , has an important role to play in
the future of this sector. Carsharing is at the end of the day a phenomenon which reaches across the
old public/private divisions, and brings us smack in the age of partnerships. It is the creative
management of these partnerships which is the job of good governance.
* * *
Intermezzi:
At the end of each chapter the reader will find an intermezzo, intended to provide
perspective, incidental information and yes! questions from a variety of angles and short
thinking exercises which are intended to enrich the discussions. The first of these which
follows directly below provides an international timeline which quickly identifies what we
regard as being the outstanding events which individually and collectively have shaped the
sector over all these years.
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This is a report about something popularly known as carsharing. And as you know we are not the
only ones to prepare such a report. Already in 2014 alone thousands of articles and hundreds of
hefty reports have been written and conferences convened on this exact topic from a wide variety of
points of view. Why one more? And why one from the Netherlands?
Well in this case we take a slightly different approach. For starters we choose to step back from our
topic as generally defined and commonly accepted, to first consider the dynamics of the broader
context and specifically the high level of activity and innovation concerning ways in which climate
and environment issues, new mobility patterns, unserved needs, economic realities, technologies,
legislation, interest groups, political pressures, , and yet more are going through a raging process of
adaptation and change which is often proving quite painful. If we put it all together we can see that
this is a sector and a time in which the term creative destruction" has real meaning.
What are some of the high points of the chaotic environment that we need to keep in mind in order
to not lose sight of reality. Here is a shortlist for you to keep in mind:
1. Twenty percent of our planets climate challenge is a function of our often inefficient, underperforming transport systems, with all the macro trends going in the wrong direction.
2. Yet despite the importance of the transport sector as a heavy and to a large extent
unnecessary polluter, strategic consideration of how the sector can reduce its impacts
directly and significantly, and for the most part through the reduction of unnecessary traffic,
the sector is poorly represented in international climate conferences.
3. Economic slowdown: the growing pressures to cut back public spending and services opens
up new opportunities for frugal mobility modes like carsharing which do not require like the
old mobility approaches large expenditures of scarce taxpayer contributions.
4. The public resource squeeze, along with Increased income discrepancies, are leaving larger
vulnerable population under-served
5. Dysfunctional and in fact unnecessary dependence on private cars is a major factor in this
debacle.
6. The steady shrinking of the world auto industry in terms of the number of major players is
leading them to actively explore new business areas, including provision of mobility services
7. The effective end of growth of demand for new cars in mature automotive markets.
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8. The continuing inability of traditional public transport forms to meet a significant part of the
mobility requirements of 21st century lifestyles and population distribution
9. Increasing aggressive (and successful) city policies for environmental, space and efficiency
considerations to limit car use within the city limits.
10. The slow but sure progress of understanding and examples of more rational public policies
concerning parking, and in particular in urban centers and other areas in which the sheer
space considerations and inefficiency of traditional parking strategies is finally starting to
give way to more carefully thought-out and effective public policies 1
11. The reshaping of cities and neighborhoods at the leading edge to render them agreeable and
efficient places to live, work and get around in, without the heavy 20th century requirement
(dream?) of a car in every driveway.
12. Living without a car 1: The increasing number of households learning to live comfortably
without cars, or with fewer cars than in the past. 2
13. Living without a car 2: Culture changes in many places where ownership of a car is seen by a
growing slice of the population, as just not as important as it was in the past.
14. New forms of IT-based intermediate public transport are exploding (DRT, Kutsuplus, etc.)
15. Battle lines forming up sharply between alternative taxi forms (Uber, Lyft, etc.)
16. The rapidly growing range of new mobility means which in many cases combine to provide
more efficient and economic transportation than the individual motor car. Specifically, we
are now looking at better than car transportation systems, with the car being replaced not
by one or two options, but a rich and coordinated array of alternative mobility services,
available to be picked and chosen by each citizen for their own preferences;
This is the new and very different world within which the carsharing sector has to make its way in
the coming years. As will be seen in the pages that follow we are optimistic that even with all of
these pressures and difficulties, the carsharing sector, in all of its increasing number of variations
and parts, is going to do very well in the years immediately ahead.
Especially important of course when it comes to carsharing where parking polices are vital to their full
success. Parking is, in many ways, the other side of the golden coin of carsharing.
2
Even so many years after the 1972 Club of Rome report, it is still difficult to bring the position of car traffic
into discussion, while in the meantime an increasing number of households are starting to reduce car use and
car ownership! A new pattern is emerging, but is as yet not being brought into the international climate
discussions and negotiations. They strikes me as a strange, unnecessary and costly oversight. Perhaps next
year in the COP21 UN Climate Conference in Paris?
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But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead.
- Lord Keynes A Tract on Monetary Reform (1923)
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Everyone who suffers from some form of impairment that makes driving or even access to
traditional public transit difficult or impossible
6. Everyone who cannot responsibly take the wheel at any given time (fatigue, distraction,
nervousness, some form of intoxication. . . )
7. Everyone who lives in a large city and for reasons of density, public health and quality of city
life needs to have access to a decent non-car mobility system
8. Everyone who would in fact prefer to get around by walking, cycling or some form of shared
transport who cannot safely or readily do so today, because all the money is being spent on
the car-based system which is fundamentally, and financially, incompatible with these
softer and more healthy ways of getting around
9. All those who are today isolated and unable to participate in the life of our communities
fully because they simply do not have a decent way to get around.
10. And dont lose sight of this! in a few years you!
To conclude: the transportation majority, the overwhelming majority of citizens of all ages, require a
mobility system which provides a maximum of choices, and these include of course not only
conventional public transport but the full inventory of alternative movers: walking, cycling, taxis of
many kinds, ridesharing and usual long list. And because all of these work together, also all the new
and better adapted ways of owning and using cars, including carsharing in all its varieties.
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GOING DUTCH
In 1969 I lead a four-man team to complete a major study for a consortium of European banks entitled "New
Technology and Transportation: 1970 to 1990. Toward the end of the volume of the report dealing with cities,
I shared some thoughts with our readers about what cars were going to look like in the last decade of the
century. Since we had examined quite a broad array of vehicle and motive technologies, including not only full
range of concept cars, engines and alternative fuel sources but also PRT and other such ambitious concepts, I
felt comfortable about going out on a limb with the following view. I hazard a guess that by 1990 the
automobile market would already be dividing into two distinct parts, which I defined as "city cars" and" road
machines". And my informal forecast was that the former were going to increasing the replace the latter in
cities around the world, and in the process open up a wide range of new product areas for the automobile
industry and other suppliers. (But there was not a word on carsharing.)
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Precondition: The challenge before policy makers and transport professionals now at a time when
change is so badly needed is that of redefining the role of the car so that it has a more appropriate
footprint with the overall texture and priorities of our 21st century cities. The indisputable fact is
that if our cities are to be sustainable, one of the necessary conditions of their sustainability will be
that they are home to many fewer cars. How to manage the transition when our dependence on the
private car is still so very strong? We can be sure that it will not be the result of brutal confrontation.
That would be a battle lost, at least in the short-term -- which is the field on which these issues now
need to be engaged.
Bottom line: Yes, we need to reduce significantly the number of cars in and moving around in and
through our cities. Yes, in order to achieve this we are going to have to provide a broad range of
attractive mobility alternatives which are seen by those who use them as better than the old
arrangements. (Among these classic car sharing, Peer2Peer, one-way carsharing, car rental, car
clubs, ride sharing, carpooling, slugging, and other ways of having access to car when you need it,
but leaving you free of it when you do not).
Soft Path (Choice) And finally yes, we are going to have to provide a soft path for car
owner/drivers to move over to these alternative transportation arrangements. The soft path in a
pluralistic democracy requires that the decisions are made by individuals in what they consider to be
their own interest. As part of this we also have to build into our strategy in understanding that a
certain amount of time is required for us human beings, change-averse as we are, to alter our daily
mobility choices. (But this time, depending on the individual case, is a matter in most cases of
months or at most a couple of years, not decades as often is said to be the case.)
State-of-the-art technology can be put to work hand in hand with the changing role of the private
car in order to create situations in which even car use can be integrated with a far softer edge into
the overall mobility strategy. These advantages need to be widely broadcast so as to increase
acceptance of the new pattern of urban mobility. The environment must also be able to
accommodate people in cars, since that is an incontrovertible reality which will not go away simply
because it may seem to some like an ideal solution.
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The city is a microcosm of the planet. If our cities can do it, then our planet can do it.
But it is not only a matter of these large world cities. You dont have to be big to be great. Take for
example But are the midsized cities in the Netherlands, cities around 100.000-150.000, like Amersfoort, Den
Bosch, Breda, Maastricht, Alkmaar, Zwolle, Arnhem, Nijmegen. There are, in fact, hundreds of cities in Europe
that are leading the way, and we can make similar lists for much of the rest of Western Europe (though sadly
not the rest of the world.)
5
The Elephant in the Bedroom: Automobile Dependence & Denial: Impacts on the Economy and Environment.
S.I. Hart, A.L. Spivak, Hope Publishing House (July 1, 1993)
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First, because it makes a contribution to remove at least a portion of the planetary burden
of one of the least balanced and least sustainable policies and practices in the transport
field, which incidentally by most measures accounts for something on the order of 20% of
all emissions, energy consumption, etc., and of our waking hours.
Now while carsharing does not all by itself substitute for unsustainable solo-driven cars, it is
part of a package of alternative services and needs to be understood as such. Many studies
have shown that carsharing does have a role in reducing the number of cars in circulation
and with it traffic, congestion and all the bad things that connotes.
Carsharing leads to energy savings, for all kinds of reasons which are well identified in the
literature (e.g., people who carshare drive considerably less and, on average, drive newer
more efficient cars). Energy savings lead to a corresponding decrease of the need for
spending your hard earned money on imported fossil fuels or indeed any other energy
source other than renewable energy.
Carsharers organize their lives differently from those who are entirely dependent on own
cars. They walk more, cycle more, take public transport more and organize their time and
trouble more carefully -- by contrast with the average car owner who jumps into their car
for a cost free trip at the drop of a hat. The mindset and lifestyle of carsharers is basically
different and, to coin a phrase, notably more sustainable.
Carsharing is "the missing link in our sustainable transportation arrangements, and as such a critical
component for balanced and sustainable economic growth.
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There is another albeit almost invisible mobility factor that needs to be taken into account for our
carsharers, and that is that because of the fact that this particular mobility option obliges you to
think about your trip before actually taking it. It is no longer a matter of just finding the keys, racing
down the stairs, jumping into our faithful car and going where we want to go when we want to go -regardless of what may be the traffic situation, the difficulties involved in parking, and of course
without any attention whatsoever to the environmental or climate impacts of our trip.
This pattern of behavior has become so familiar to all of us that we simply cannot see it as
something which is not only seriously antisocial but also in many instances against our own best
interest. Obviously we need some help.
Carshare users by contrast as a result of the way the system works are obliged to give some prior
thought to that next car trip (they have to reserve even if that is only one click away, etc.), and
beyond this, they are helped in terms of more rational behavior to the extent in which each trip
carries a specific price tag which is right before their nose. Indeed, if many of us knew the actual cost
of that next trip in our own car, we might hesitate about making it -- or at least implicitly start to get
involved in travel planning at this most personal level. Better travel planning means fewer trips, and
since carshare operations achieve this, here is the next quasi-invisible contribution of our so-called
1% solution.
On top of this, since carshare operations are increasingly IT oriented in a number of ways, this means
that carsharers on average tend to be more oriented to making daily use of their at-desk or in-hand
IT equipment -- though at this point this is a total unscientific personal guess on my part -- which
suggests that many if not all will often be potential users of the steadily increasing array of "distance
technologies" which in many cases allow us to substitute electronic messaging or contact for car or
other trips. This might mean teleshopping, telemedicine, telework, televisiting, or other tele-options,
all of which often ends up each time with one less car on the road. One transaction, one trip at a
time.
The bottom line:
The move to sustainable transportation, sustainable cities and sustainable lives will come
about not as a results of harsh laws, ubiquitous policing and state-imposed choices. In most
countries around the world this thing we so easily call democracy comes with a certain
number of ground rules for government. And that is if we wish to create a climate of change,
we need to do this by offering more and better choices from the arrangements now in place.
Many of us get locked into our cars and the life style that goes with it. But carsharing
provides a palatable, even attractive option for many, and this is what we need to build on
and reinforce: "Better than car" mobility. And carsharing is part of that process.
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ENDOGENOUS CHANGES
Most of these developments were already starting to shape up and transform the sector in the first
years of the new century, but they have significantly accelerated over the last five or six years.
1. The main actors, old and new, have aggressively embraced new technology developments that
can influence both levels of service and profitability.
2. Continuous entry of new players and startups offering both more and less familiar approaches
and services
3. Increased aggressiveness and expansion by the more successful established carshare operators
4. P2P (peer-to-peer) carsharing has entered with little advance notice and is radically redefining
the field.
5. Rapidly accelerating buy-in of large car rental groups, often on a significant scale
6. Aggressive expansion of one-way services as opposed to the traditional pickup and return-toorigin service pattern
7. Gradual acceleration of auto industry out to reclaim/replace traditional markets, was finally
beginning of a move into services as opposed to products
8. Electric vehicles starting to enter the mix, potentially offering a second level or parallel service to
more conventional operators
9. More recently ULEV, ultralight other vehicles, started to come in and compete in the market
10. Scale changes by new actors including that of literally flooding the market for the given city with
large numbers, hundreds or more vehicles dispersed widely over the target service area (this
coming essentially from the automobile industry).
11. Public sector institutions and businesses starting to look to carsharing variations and eventual
partnerships to reduce traditional budgets for own fleets, and if possible improved service levels.
12. Many carshare operators working hard to get their vehicles parked on the streets so as to be
visible and in the prospect draw potential customers attention
13. Multi-layered carshare packages, aimed at different user groups (e.g., large fleets, corporations,
developers, as well as end-users.
14. A study growing number of cities have started to function that only has areas of operation but
also as partners with carshare operators
15. Cities in the Third World starting to open up to the idea of carsharing (privileged enclaves)
16. Etc. etc.
These are ongoing-dynamic dynamic changes which not only working individually but also combine
with each other in order to create a dramatically different operating environment not only
To conclude: from the vantage of customers, suppliers, and gradually the city, carsharing has
essentially and radically redefined itself as a function of these internal changes. But there is a lot
more to it than that.
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Economics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Technology:
1. Big data
2. Smartphones
3. Generalized use of GPS (transportation is 50% information )
4. Hotlink APPs to services permit ingrained culture of immediacy to be maintained
Sharing:
1. Shared public bicycles show the way
2. Culture of sharing
3. Social networks
Behavior:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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First because it makes a contribution to remove it one of the least balanced and least
sustainable policies and practice in the transport field, which incidentally by most measures
accounts for something on the order of 20% of all emissions, energy consumption, etc.
Now we are well aware that carsharing does not all by itself substitute for
unsustainable solo driven cars. It is part of a package of alternative services and needs to be
understood as such. But as many studies have shown carsharing does have a role in
reducing the number of cars in circulation and with it traffic, congestion and all the bad
things that connotes.
Carsharing leads to energy savings, for all kinds of reasons which are well identified
in the literature (e.g., people who carshare drive on average considerably less and, again on
average, drive newer more efficient cars). Energy savings in the case of the Netherlands
lead to a corresponding decrease of the need for spending your hard earned money on
imported fossil fuels or indeed any other energy source other than renewable energy.
Carsharers organize their lives differently from those who are entirely dependent on
their own cars. They walk more, cycle more, take public transport more and organize their
time and trouble more carefully, by contrast with the average car owner who jumps into
The Sociaal-Economische Raad (Social and Economic Council; SER) is a major economic advisory council of
the Dutch government. Formally it heads a system of sector-based regulatory organizations. It represents
the social partners trade unions and employers' organizations. It forms the core organization of
the corporatist and social market economy known as the polder model and the main platform for social
dialogue. (Source: Wikipedia)
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their car for a cost free trip at the drop of a hat. The mindset and lifestyle of carsharers is
really quite different and, to coin a phrase, notably more sustainable.
There is a not unreasonable argument which states that without carsharing -- which
as we know is an option for being able to drive a car when it is needed without saddling the
driver with the 800 pound gorilla that is to babysit at considerable time, trouble and
expense an own-car -- the path to a sustainable mobility system is going to be longer and
more hotly contested by all those who do not want to be entirely deprived of the highly
flexible mobility option that a car can provide. But again the advantage of carsharing is that
it offers a soft option" which is available to those who wish to take it without depriving
others of their own choice of mode.
Carsharing is thus "the missing link in our sustainable transportation system", and as such it is an
important motor for balanced and sustainable economic growth.
2. Full employment?
This is a tougher call and if at first glance it looks to be somewhere between irrelevant and
questionable, let us take a minute or two to reflect on it.
Carsharing is part of a greater economic shift away from products and toward
services. Thus for the carsharer mobility is not about products (cars) but rather services
(that is to say in this case getting somewhere when and how they want to get there). In
advanced 21st-century economies, we bet on services, quality and efficiency. Sounds like
carsharing.
When there is any kind of structural discontinuity, there will always be defensive
howls to protect the old way of doing things, logical, desirable or not. On the other hand,
carsharing has been around long enough and advanced steadily enough over these last
years, that the strong opposition that might be anticipated to this new way of owning and
using cars has largely been dissipated.
There might be an argument that carsharing will permit some employees to get to
places of work that might otherwise not be possible. But it is hard to see any big numbers
coming out of that.
Bottom line on this issue: carsharing has a neutral impact in promoting full
employment, with one possible wrinkle.
People and families that carshare spend substantially less money on transportation
(think expensive imported fossil fuels and all that goes with it) than people with car-based
lifestyles. The savings and become disposable income which is available for other products
and services, above all services. In the 21st century our economies are increasingly led by
growth of the service sector. So there may be an argument there.
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To conclude:
My read of the evidence suggests that carsharing gets high marks on at least two out of three of
these important criteria of the Social Board. These equity arguments are important not only in
terms of the priorities of democracy and social justice but also because an equity-based
transportation system offers considerable environmental, economic and performance advantages.
Your views may well differ.
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This section of report is aimed to serve international readers interested to understand what is going on in the
Carshare sector in the Netherlands, as well as our Dutch readers of course.
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2. Availability of carsharing is strictly dictated by the market. If demand from private citizens
should grow in the future, the supply will certainly also increase. As has been shown over the
last 10 years, the authorities are not in a position to stimulate that demand.
3. If carsharing has any social value at the moment, it is in highly specific situations: in older
neighbourhoods in the major cities where there are parking problems. In which event, it is
not necessary to continue with a promotion policy.
The 2003 report was a serious effort and we cite it here in order to underscore the difficulty of
looking to the future where there are no strong existing trends to get a solid handle on it.
Ten years of promoting car sharing: History and Results. Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water
Management. AVV Transport Research Centre. 31 October 2003
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CROW-KpVV
Supports local and regional governments with knowledge in order to make them more competent in
the field of mobility. Delivers publications on e.g. mobility management, behaviour change and
carsharing. Including an annual monitor of carsharing developments.
http://www.crow.nl/vakgebieden/verkeer-en-vervoer/bibliotheek
Urgenda
Sustainability platform for a myriad of actors in society, which creates urgency for sustainability and
climate change. Initiates highly visible projects that show and convince that change is possible and
tries to create new business opportunities for sustainability.
www.urgenda.nl
Utrecht University
Research program on carsharing. lead by prof. dr. Koen Frenken.
http://www.uu.nl/staff/KFrenken
PBL
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: national institute for strategic policy analysis in
fields of environment, nature and spatial planning. Conducts outlook studies, analyses and
evaluations in which an integrated approach is considered paramount. Also carries out research on
impacts of carsharing.
www.pbl.nl/en/
www.natuurenmilieu.nl
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www.autodelen.nl
Milieu Centraal
Independent information office that provides consumers with independent and reliable information
on environment and energy in daily life.
www.milieucentraal.nl
BOVAG
Branch organisation for mobility entrepreneurs. Bovags division on car rental recently changed
name into car rental and car sharing, since new formulas arise that blur the boundaries between
sharing, car rental and short lease.
http://www.bovag.nl/
ShareNL
Network organisation and knowledge platform for the sharing economy in the Netherlands.
Supports new start-ups in the sharing economy.
www.sharenl.nl
RWS Leefomgeving
Agency that carries out knowledge and implementation related tasks for the ministry of
Infrastructure and Environment, including the promotion of carsharing.
http://www.rwsleefomgeving.nl/
TNS NIPO
Market Research institute with annual monitor on carsharing from the users perspective since 2014.
http://www.tns-nipo.com/ons-aanbod/marktonderzoek/multiclientonderzoek/monitor-autodelen/
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A quick reality check here, just so that we do not over-read this last striking map. Yes, carsharing is coming
to a greater number of communities in the Netherlands, but this coverage is very uneven as a result of these
new forms which at the very least do not provide the same kind and level of coverage. But still, interesting!
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Traditional carsharing
One-way carsharing
Peer-2-peer carsharing
Private initiatives
Since 2008, the number of shared cars has grown about 24% per year on average, and between 2012
and 2013 with 88%. Peer-2-peer carsharing was first introduced in the Netherlands in 2011 and
showed a rapid (and largely unexpected) growth as can be seen below.
But without any doubt the leading indicator in terms of carsharing development in the country is the
extent to which today no less than 94 % of all municipalities in the country offer one form or another
of carsharing services - an order of magnitude more than the coverage in the beginning of the
century.
Crow-KpVV report on these trends annually since 2008, and here is how the development has taken
place since.
10
Prepared initially by Friso Metz and presented by Marco Martens to the 22 February Utrecht Workshop.
The introductory presentation opened up a number of topics for a free discussion of: needs, possibilities,
barriers, dilemmas, visions, strategies, solutions and next steps. The full PowerPoint presentation is available
at https://www.dropbox.com/home/Going%20Dutch.
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Urban mobility policies tend to shift from accommodating cars and traffic. Instead the focus
is put towards creating attractive cities where its nice to be and to live. This trend is reflected
in the EU attention for SUMPs (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans).
Energy and climate targets. For the Netherlands, the Energy agreement by the Social
Economic Board (SER) is relevant. Mobility is a topic within the agreement. The transport
sector has to show a 60% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050.
The SER aims at 100.000 shared cars in 2020 with very low emissions on average. While its
difficult to interpret this as a strict target, its relevant that carsharing is mentioned as a
solution.
Cities as well as the national government are starting to notice that carsharing is growing into
something they have to pay attention to. Thats positive, but it also comes with a myriad of
questions. Asking and discussing these is why we are all here around this table today.
11
With P2P some of the usual dividing lines between short-term car rental and carsharing tend to disappear or
at least merge. This becomes very clear when it is time to create a national label for carsharing, which fits in
many ways uncomfortably with what happens with P2P.
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CareCar - htpp://www.Carecar.nl
Connectcar htpp://www.connectcar.nl
Drive - htpp://www.drive.nl
Flexcar - http://www.flexcar.nl/
Greenwheels - https://www.greenwheels.nl
Mobility-S http://www.mobility-s.nl
Studentcar - htpp://studentcar.nl
Zoem - htpp://zoom.nl
P2P
SnappCar - htpp://www.snappcar.nl
WeGo - htpp://www.wego.nu/nl
One-way carsharing
Car2Go - https://www.car2go.com/en/amsterdam/
Other
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Both traditional carsharing", one-way, Peer2Peer, and private or informal carsharing, all
with many variants, will be part of this mix.
8. There is also a potential expanded role for new forms of carsharing in rural communities,
which takes on increasing importance as a result of demographic and economic factors the
old traditional approaches of public transport are increasingly showing themselves to be
insufficient to guaranteeing the economic vitality and quality of life in rural areas.
9. In the vast majority of cases it is unlikely that the municipality will be the actual provider of
the carsharing service. (Nor will the public transport company, most likely).
10. Whatever mix of policies and services is figured out, we can be sure that in each case it will
be dynamic. That is, the carsharing mix, whatever it is at the outset, will evolve and mutate
over time to meet the changing requirements of the city and to take advantage of
continuing advances in technology, the market and organization.
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4. U TRE C H T C A RS HA RE R OU N D TA BL E
The Utrecht roundtable was organized by CROW-KpVV on 22 February in Utrecht in
cooperation with EcoPlan to bring together representatives of a cross-section of Dutch cities
to explore, test and share their views on some of the concepts and ideas being set forth in
the Going Dutch: City Carshare Strategies project that got underway in late 2013.
The core ideas discussed by the roundtable were that (a) carsharing is still a relatively small
but important (and fast-growing) complementary mobility option. And that (b) the most
important partner for enabling carsharing to realize its full potential is local government.
And also that (c) national government has an important information and facilitating role to
play in support of local government as well.
CROW-KpVV called this first roundtable to gather the reactions and counsel of a crosssection of local government representatives concerning ways in which national government
could be useful in creating a more conducive environment to encourage and support more
and better carsharing, as part of the overall New Mobility package of services. It is
anticipated that a second roundtable will be organized that will also bring in a cross-section
of carshare operators, along with other organizations and agencies concerned, and perhaps
several aiding international authorities in the field. .
Since all of the participants had extensive personal and professional knowledge about the carshare
sector and of course about the status and progress of carsharing in their cities, the workshop was
able to move quickly into the short presentations by each of the people around the table reporting
on the position of their city or agency on these matters.
The participants gave evidence of a balanced critical sense in the discussion, reporting from a variety
of perspectives. All work in the field of transportation, environment, and city government, matters
central to the concerns of the workshop. We enjoyed an excellent collaborative environment and
made good progress in coming to a common understanding of the issues and eventual next steps.
The gender mix was close to 50% and the discussions were lively, open and generally evenly
balanced between female and male participants. (This is not always the case in transport policy
discussions, though it should be.)
Shortly before the meeting, a list of key questions was submitted by email to the participants by the
organizers, which are reproduced in the opening section of this report. This list of questions and
issues was submitted not as an ironclad agenda but rather as food for thought to help orient the
participants in their presentations.
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AGENDA
14.00 Welcome & introduction round
14.15 Why this meeting (Marco Martens)
14.30 Carsharing and the city (Eric Britton)
15.00 Discussion round
15.30 --- break --16.00 Intermezzo : gender & carsharing
16.10 Summary & conclusions (by Eric Britton)
16.20 Discussion round: role of governments
16.40 Discussion: strategy, dilemmas, next steps
16.55 Wrap up
17.00 Drinks and conversation
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And actually:
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12
While the level of knowledge of the participants about various aspects of carsharing both in general
and in the Netherlands was very high, there were substantial variations in approach from city to city.
It was agreed that we are all still in the process of building our knowledge on the topic. This is no
easy task since the sector is changing shape and practices at a startling high rate. There were
indications of a shared understanding that things are moving fast now in carsharing and that more
attention and action is needed from governments, both local and national.
However, what is much more important in the context of the meeting, was the existence of a
general consensus of the meeting that this new mobility mode is worthy of further attention.
It was noted on several occasions that for the most part carsharing projects and the related planning
policy decisions in recent years have tended to be more piecemeal and ad hoc, as opposed to being
planned and implemented within a broader strategic vision and comprehensive concept as one part
of the overall mobility picture.
There was general agreement that there of the need for a more strategic approach and practical
guidelines and procedures for carshare planning and implementation on the part of local
government,. And further that it would do well to link it more closely to the overall sustainable
transport/land-use planning and challenge.
One participant suggested that the enduring economic crisis may in fact be working to create
favorable conditions for carsharing -- as a way to retain that particular form of personal mobility,
without the significant financial sacrifices required in order to own and drive your own car.
The discussions and informal presentations by the several city teams around the table presented us
with a wide variety of points of view concerning public policy and participation to increase and/or
improve carsharing as a mobility option in their city. What was striking was the considerable
diversity of the various presentations, proposals and comments.
Considerable attention was given to different ways to link parking practices and strategies to
carsharing,, However once again we can note that in most municipalities the approaches are still
essentially ad hoc and reactive to the issues, challenges and choices as they come up. Parking is thus
a key problem for carsharers and for the municipality. But it is also an opportunity for both, the fact
that with more cars coming into service every year the pressure on available parking spaces
12
Again these comments are posted by the editor and come from his working notes.
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becomes ever greater. Thus, if the proponents of carsharing can make a convincing case for more
efficient use of these scarce spaces, this can be an argument in their favor.
One participant made a point that there are today three structural forms of carsharing:
1) In central cities as an essential part of a low-car lifestyle in tune with limited parking,
optimal PT / mobility services and bikes all over the place.
2) In dedicated areas (with green linkages) as a luxury (not essential) part of a new lifestyle,
now as an addition to the private car, maybe spreading in the future.
3) In rural areas as a flexible form of community service
The presentation and discussions about the concept of looking into the eventual development of a
Carsharing Label to facilitate better integration and management of carsharing into the overall
mobility mix of the city was received generally positively, though most of us were not sufficiently
clear concerning the details to take a firm position.
The meeting indicated a general readiness to look into this as a possibly useful near-term priority. It
was noted that good examples can be found working successfully in support of more and better
carsharing in Germany and France, and while no such label currently exists in the Netherlands, there
is a strong national eco-label program SMK - well-positioned to work as a partner on this. It was
suggested that a working committee be set up to look into this as part of the CROW-KpVV program
There seem to be a consensus to the effect that what was needed from national government is not
public funding or direct action, but rather experience-based counsel and guidelines for both local
government and the eventual operators and suppliers.
On the other hand, it appeared to be generally agreed by all that (a) carsharing has amply proven
itself to be a good thing for individual citizens and for the community as a whole, and (b) that it
should be integrated into the citys overall mobility/land use mix and strategy.
This is not to say that there was a strong vote for carsharing as a major mobility option in and of
itself -- but that there was a definite general willingness of those present to look more closely into it
as a mobility option that has a place in cities of all sizes, and also in smaller rural communities.
To conclude, the workshop proposed two immediate next steps:
1)
A follow up of this meeting with the same participants and maybe added by service provider
and other organizations and agencies concerned.
2)
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* INTERMEZZO: MESSAGE
OF THE
ROUNDTABLE
Community of interest:
This first workshop appears to have created the beginning of the community of interest around the
concept of more and better carsharing for Dutch cities
Consensus:
The consensus of the people around the table indicated their willingness to look into these issues
and proposals more closely, including in the immediate future with the CROW-KpVV team as a first
step. Such a center of gravity for car-sharing is lacking now in the Netherlands.
Knowledge gap:
The meeting generally indicated that up until the present time there is on the part of most (but not
all) local governments a serious knowledge gap in this field which needs to be filled. Carsharing is not
only developing rapidly but in a number of different ways, most of which were not anticipated in the
past. The speed and magnitude of these changes makes it even more challenging for policy purposes
for local government and for suppliers as well. Filling this knowledge gap is a priority.
Government role:
There was a strong consensus indicating that whereas local governments necessarily play a key role
in creating the basis for a successful relationship with the different carshare operators, there is much
that national government can do to assist in this process. (The previous section outlines a set of
proposed project initiatives for near term implementation and follow-up.)
Cities/differences:
Within the 403 municipalities that constitute the third tier of public administration in the
Netherlands, there are wide differences of information and practices when it comes to planning and
supporting carsharing in any of its forms. Government policy must assist the smaller and less
densely settled regions, as well as the larger and medium sized cities.
Next steps:
The initiative to move ahead from now on lies firmly in the hands of the meetings organizers.
Momentum:
This broad based collaborative effort has the momentum at this point, and it is important that we
already start to move ahead on the next steps in a timely manner.
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5. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
If carsharing is already developing quite nicely, as we have seen here-- and even if it is not -- why
should government put scarce public resources into or otherwise get involved in an area of activity
which until now at least would seem to be primarily a function of private sector providers and
certain public sector groups with their own specific motivations? So if carsharing is unsuccessful,
why give it any attention at all? And if it is successful, why not leave it to develop on its own as it has
largely to now? We shall try to provide some thoughts on these questions in the following chapter.
The role of government support is hardly a new issue. In one of the very early international massive
expert reports on carsharing developments and likely future trends published back in 1999 under
the aegis of the OECD Environment Directorate, in cooperation with Ecoplan International and the
Journal of World Transport Policy and Practice Carsharing 2000: A Hammer for Sustainable
Development -- was already making this point with vigor. 13
There is a critical gap which now needs to be addressed. Until now and with far too few
exceptions, the concerned public sector agencies, across Europe and North America in
particular, have failed to mobilize to do what is needed to advance the state of thinking and
performance of this important new player on the sustainable transportation scene. Thus far,
the support that has been shown here or there is far too little, too episodic and too casual.
That is not at all what is needed. If they are ever going to help us to meet the challenges of
sustainable transportation, these institutions are going have to rethink and refit themselves,
including in some radical ways. A new learning curve needs to be engaged.
All that was fifteen long years ago, and here we are in 2014 repeating the same recommendation.
How does all this look today? In this section we will look at the issues, trade-offs and possible actions
on the part of government at three levels: international, national and local.
13
Carsharing 2000 : A Hammer for Sustainable Development. Eric Britton and Associates, OECD Environment
Directorate, published by the Journal of World Transport Policy & Practice, Vol. 5, No. 3, ISSN 1352. 7614 http://goo.gl/yLDPNr This volume, which invited participation from thirty seven contributing authors working
in the field, from fifteen different countries, contains in Chapter 6 an excellent treatment of the status and
prospects of carsharing in the Netherlands in the closing months of the last century, by Rens Meijkamp,
which makes a fascinating read in the context of the present report.
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One good reason that Dutch cities, operators or others interested in the
potential of carsharing should be familiar with international sources and
programs in this area is that there are now numerous opportunities for
information sharing, project and planning collaboration which it can be useful to
know about..
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
At the beginning of this new century there was close to zero activity or support coming from
international organizations when it came to carsharing (or indeed most New Mobility modes). We
began to see the first national and international reports appearing on the topic, but these mainly
from academic and research groups. By and large at all levels government was standing aside.
The lack of international support can be explained by several facts. First, for the most part carsharing
existed in such a curious, diffused, minor, ad hoc, and quite personal manner. If we add to this the
minor impact of these services rendered them of little interest to transport or environmental
specialists. In addition, there was little general understanding in transport circles of how carsharing
fit sin with the rest. So in both transport environmental terms, carsharing was a bit of an orphan.
Today however the situation in Europe has evolved considerably, and multi-country studies and
projects are increasingly frequent and useful. At the same time when we look at the street, we can
see that the sector is internationalizing itself in a number of ways, most evidenced in the last couple
of years, where we are seeing entrepreneurs, operators and service providers reaching beyond
national borders to bring new approaches to the unmet mobility requirements of the general public.
While there has been a certain amount of activity in the past on the international and more
specifically European front to support the development of carsharing, there is room for more and
better. Here briefly is the situation of the major concerned institutions and groups in 2014. If you are
looking for allies for your project or program, these are among the best places to start.
The European Commission has a strong history of supporting carsharing in Europe through a number
of collaborative research and networking programs, starting with the highly original Moses (Mobility
services for urban sustainability) collaborative project in 2001-2004, and followed by momo CarSharing project (2008-2011). These projects succeeded in networking cities and groups involved in
carsharing, helping to ensure awareness and development of carsharing in many parts of Europe. 14
Annex A to this report identifies the main programs and support from the European Union.
14
A shortcoming of the European Commissions otherwise creative work in the sector has been that once
these expert networks have been created and the international team has successfully terminated the project
as originally planned, nothing is done to sustain these valuable networks, other than the efforts of individuals
and groups who have gone to the trouble of trying to do so. Yes, we would like to see more continuing support
in some kind of framework of communication for these networks which have been built up at some
considerable cost and with often very useful results. It would be a pity not to make use of these important
assets. The technology is certainly there to accomplish this in an efficient and low-cost manner.
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Priorities
Here are some of the areas in which national government could make a useful contribution,
efficiently, quickly and at low cost. 15
Technical, administrative and legal counsel to assist local governments to make wise decisions
when confronted with new mobility forms which may present a certain number of special problems.
The various forms of carsharing provide examples, but the recent and often quite difficult
developments and conflicts in terms of alternative taxi services such as UBER, LYFT, SIDECAR and
others, who are essentially challenging the traditional taxi industry in significant ways. Local
government, and to take the of course the smaller municipalities, should have some place to turn for
counsel and perspective, because it is exactly at this level of government in which decisions need to
be made.
Legal definitions: Guidelines for the precise legal definition of carsharing as a mobility mode in
general, and the specific forms of carsharing which are currently moving quite fast (one-way, private
carsharing, peer-to-peer, etc.). 16 In the view of this writer this is a critical task which deserves
immediate attention. The definitions themselves do not necessarily have to be uniform from city to
city, but an expert advisory function clearly spelling out considered definitions of each new mobility
form is a priority.
Parking: Parking is the other half of the carsharing coin, and informed (and not necessarily uniform)
policy from city to city is much needed. Substantial technical information is available on the topic,
and some cities such as Amsterdam have given this considerable attention, so the necessary
expertise is there.
There are a broader series of issues and challenges at work here. Cities (and also at the national
level) probably need to develop a new, more explicit, parking policy, not only for carsharing but
studying in defining the conditions for use of curb space in the public right of way. This would apply
to buses, car parking, bike parking (i.e. bike corrals), bike sharing stations, delivery and vans, truck
loading zones, etc. and from there onto carsharing in its many different forms. Residential, work and
commercial parking are inseparable parts of this difficult but absolutely critical policy challenge.
15
This section is presented here as an open brainstorming exercise. The immediate goal is not to resolve the
issues but to bring them to the attention of government and the readers of this report. There based on the
authors experience and observations in the field, as well as the learning process put in motion by Crow-KpVV
and including the considerable body of information and correspondence exchanged over the course of this
year in the framework of this project.
16
This is in fact part of a larger and even more challenging task since such definitions are also needed to be
able to orchestrate government policy at the various levels in terms of other new mobility forms which are
also coming online, most spectacularly among them the new alternative taxi concepts mentioned elsewhere in
this report.
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Improve linkages: As we are seeing carsharing is not an isolated detail but part of the emerging new
mobility system which consists of many parts and linkages. Local government can find it useful to
have clear counsel on these, including to air and sea ports, trains, public transport services, and
cycling in public bicycles.
Insurance: Could not national governments be involved in some form of support guaranteeing
insurance of carsharing and car sharers at reasonable cost and with the level of coverage
appropriate for all concerned?
Economic instruments: National governments can do a great deal to level the playing field which in
most places today heavily favor and support private car purchase and use. Full cost pricing for
private car ownership and use is an essential characteristic for a smooth move to a more effective,
environmental, efficient and sustainable mobility system.
Mediator/Ombudsmen: The mobility mix in our cities is already changing quite rapidly. And if the
constraints of sustainable development are taken more seriously, we are going to see a lot more of
this in the years ahead. Change brings with it differences of views, interests and understanding of
the issues at hand. The conflicts which inevitably arise as a result of these combination of change
and older ways of viewing and doing things almost all have one thing in common: each of the
arguments and differences are well known as are the techniques for resolving them. To this sends
the government may wish to consider, assuming that it does not already exist, the training and
appointment of mediators will be available to go into specific cities and disputes and find ways to
resolve them in the public interest.
Fossil fuel and energy prices: There are many excellent and well known reasons for increasing fossil
fuel and energy prices more generally to take into account all of the negative externalities which
they bring on. As national governments take stronger positions on these prices, this is going to help
in the shift of transit mode choices, increasing the cost of unshared car ownership and use.
(Gradually increase fossil fuel taxes (escalator) until they reach level of compensating for all negative
externalities)
Employer Carshare programs: the technical tools and operational techniques which event
developed by the carsharing industry over the last two decades are available for larger employers
who wish to rationalize the use of their own fleets of vehicles as well as to be able to achieve
considerable potential economies on but are often very high parking costs. The development of a
neat handbook with clear guidelines which can be distributed by national and local government
would seem to be an excellent contribution to be made.
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Best practices: Reports and other information sources on best practices both in the country and
beyond can help local government become more comfortable with the concept. There is no reason
that such reports need to be long or elaborate, since a relatively small number of key indicators and
practices will generally do the job of making local government comfortable in managing their own
transition to a new mobility makes of which carsharing is but one part.
Collaborative blog: A useful contribution to national level could be to open up a collaborative blog in
which information and queries specifically dealing with carsharing can be made available to all who
are interested. Ideally such a blog would offer coverage of the full spectrum of sustainable transport
modes, but also have easy access for those who are specifically interested in carsharing practices,
problems and possibilities. (In the Netherlands you probably have couple of dozen blogs of widely
different quality which come close to this in some way. So the function of the overall blog will be to
serve as a turntable which will take the reader to all of those other good sources as well.)
Annual national cities conference on carsharing. It would seem like an idea worth exploring of
bringing together transportation planners from municipalities and outlying areas around the country
to bring them up to date on the state of carsharing as a new mobility option that can be developed
within their area of government.
It is also worth considering the possibility of integrating such a conference into a broader annual
review of the full range of new mobility options. In this latter, desirable, case carsharing would have
sessions of its own? Whereas a perfectly useful workshop on carsharing could be organized in a
single day, for adequate coverage of the full range of options, it will probably be necessary to give it
to a three days.
National Carshare Day: a great and lively program could be developed to get the word out, and it
might be an idea to consider integrating it into the European Mobility week. (Alternatively this might
be handled in the form of a shared transport day, which would include demonstrations and
advance covering that only carsharing but also bike sharing, taxi sharing, and various forms of street
and public space sharing.
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Will the city chose to work with one provider, or with multiple?
In case of a single provider, will they need tendering?
And is tendering possible (what happens with the memberships if after a couple of years
a new provider is being tendered?)
How to create market transparency about CS opportunities by cities?
How to create a strong relationship between CS and PT?
Public entrepreneurship with private and civil society partners
Combining bus stops and carsharing 18
17
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Parking:
Resident parking permits: the more difficult/expensive it is for households to park their
(second/ third) car(s), or the more difficult it is to acquire a parking permit, the better the
chances for carsharing
While it is not at all clear at this point, it is going to be necessary to have parking policies
which are able to deal with all the forms of CS? (And to be prepared to deal with new
forms of CS as they show up?)
Both classic and one-way CS need parking regulation
For private CS, its an option to create a parking permit for more than one parking sector,
if the carsharers live in different CS sectors
For p2p no parking regulation is needed. However, cities like their fleets to be clean
How to make proper agreements about parking space for CS?
e.g. about duration of parking contract: unlimited duration may be unwanted; but if its
too short, providers cant get any business out of it
Remove parking spaces if CS grows?
Is a limit of CS parking spaces required (Guess not, but some cities dont want too many
dedicated parking spaces like delivery, parking for disabled etc.)
Communications
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INTERMEZZO: RURAL
CARSHARE PROJECT
: A
THINKING EXERCISE
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GOING DUTCH
reservation. This can be done manually, though better will be the use of social media and/or any of
the simple carshare reservation schemes which are available either free or at low cost.
So I can now have a car (my car, kind of) at my disposal at a reasonable level of cost and can make
a reservation from, let us say, Thursday noon until 1800 hrs. on the same day, on the understanding
that the vehicle will be returned in good condition and in a timely manner to our agreed parking
area. (Something which will be costless or close to it given the fact that we are dealing with lightly
settled areas.)
This is private carsharing, and since there are few known statistics on it at this point, it remains
to be seen how it might be better known in the future, with the thought that if it is carefully done
it would represent a public asset which can only profit from wise public attention and support.
For now in the carsharing world all eyes are turned on classic carsharing along the model which
has dominated over the last 20 years, and more recently one-way carsharing and P2P (peer-to-peer
or person to person). But private carsharing is going to be an important player in the future, so now
seems like a good time to begin to organize our thoughts and policies on it. And here is where
national and local government can be ready to step in and lend a hand. If . . . they have worked out
a strategy.
Environmental impacts: What about the negative environmental impacts of one more old car
circulating on the road system and adding to the overall pollution load of the transport system? This
needs to be taken into consideration, but there is nothing like a bit of research and some solid
numbers to take an informed position on this important question. Off the top of my head, my guess
is that given all the potential benefits, this is unlikely to be a deciding factor. But let us let the
research work this one out.
Ridesharing potential: Here is another hunch: when it becomes known in the small community that
there is a new means of mobility available, it would seem likely that there will be significant
potential for ride sharing to develop around the basic model. Again, good policy counsel and
guidelines from government and the research community can certainly play a role in making this
happen.
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Only rural? Of course not. We have chosen to take the rural setting as our point of departure for
this recommendation since we finally have here a mobility option that can work in these needful
places. (See the Neighborhood Car concept in Germany and other parts of Europe and North
America for use in other settings.)
Equity: What are the kinds of people and communities likely to benefit from the development of
new forms of affordable mobility in outlying areas? They will in the main be poorer rather than
richer. Older rather than younger. Less rather than more educated. Cut off from public services and
enjoyable day-to-day experiences and transactions because there is simply no way for them to
access them conveniently and affordably. 19(1) For excellent reasons why the Going Dutch project in
its next stages should be giving attention to these private options as well as to more conventional
forms of carsharing .
The role of government: A fair number of the 403 municipalities in the Netherlands are rural and
lightly settled. And hard to serve by traditional public transport means. Moreover, it would seem
reasonable to guess that few of these key local government units are at present prepared to take an
active role in encouraging rural carsharing, in large part because it is not familiar to them. However
since we now know that the key actor in encouraging and supporting more and better carsharing is
local government, this looks like something that is worth looking into more closely within the
current program. The role of national government in turn is to help ensure that local government is
fully informed as to the advantages and ways of going about creating more and better carsharing.
If we bear in mind that the typical carsharer in most parts of the world until now have had a quite different
profile from that which we can expect to find expect to find in rural areas: i.e., relatively young, relatively welloff, relatively well-educated and more likely than not living in a place which offers relatively good levels of
public transit, cycling and other non-car access.
20
Translation from Dutch text by allinx.eu
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Often people of these villages have themselves really good solutions, but they need a helping hand
to realize it. To help to start these initiatives the province has a scheme for small scale mobility
solutions available. They help the promoters with knowledge, bring them into contact with other
parties or help the project literally started with a grant.
The immediate reason for the village car was a change in the route of the local bus allowing
residents of Boerdonk no longer to use public transport to e.g. Gemert and Beek en Donk. The Care
Village Foundation (Stichting Zorg om het Dorp) examined together with Foundation the
transportation needs in the village.
The village car is a voluntary transport service and information point on transportation in the
community. With this transport vehicle residents of Boerdonk can be picked up by a volunteer at
home and brought to the desired destination. With the village car up to 5 passengers can ride at
once. It is also possible to carry a folded wheel chair or walker. The offer applies to all residents of
Boerdonk who have no other opportunity to have transportation to destinations within a radius of
about 25 km around Boerdonk. A fixed price is charged for traveling to the most common
destinations. For example, a ride to Gemert costs 5. For other destinations it is 0.44 per km.
The province subsidizes the Care Village Foundation with an amount of 13,000 for the
establishment of the organization, to recruit and train volunteers, setting up an information point in
the community and expanding the website Boerdonk.nl with information about public transport and
other travel options.
* * *
Next steps: This rough-cut exercise is distributed to colleagues in different countries who are
looking for new approaches to providing higher quality mobility in rural areas.
First comment in from the UK, Richard Wakeford, http://ruralstrategy.co.uk
We keep reading and are repeatedly informed that for carsharing to work there must be good
public transport, cycling and other mobility arrangements as indispensable complements. in small
rural towns in the UK, where parking is difficult and cars are essential due to lack of public
transport. I am leading the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan. New homes come with garages,
but these are usually not used for cars.
Ill be interested if there are workable ideas to bring car sharing to small rural towns, where
parking is difficult and cars essential due to lack of public transport. I am leading the preparation
of a Neighbourhood Plan. New homes come with garages, but these are usually not used for cars.
So, too many cars on the streets. Do we provide for more parking spaces, which is what some
people call for?
The alternative is to encourage a small scale car share. But most Parish Councils simply dont have
the capability to build up all the components from scratch. I occurs to me that new homes might
come with a requirement for a sum set aside for car sharing, in return for allowing an extra home
on the site (in turn facilitated by fewer parking spaces).
There may be other ideas. But most rural communities will want a model to buy into rather than
engage in the risk of creating something from scratch.
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Step 1: Ministry orients and supports research on the actual and possible impacts of
carsharing and the existing changes and barriers (by each stakeholder)
Step 2: Ministry concludes that the way cities currently deal with carsharing is in most
cases not optimal, and thus a barrier for sustainability and for growth
Step 5: Ministry offers support to cities willing to develop good carsharing regulations
and practices.
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21
And whereas there is good reason for creating such a group aiming square at carsharing issues, it goes
without saying that all public initiatives in this field need to be anchored firmly into the overall sustainable
transport program.
22
With perhaps funding by the new program Beter Benutten?
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5. Pioneer cities
To be decided and overseen by the Steering Group. The idea, as discussed at the meeting, would be
to invite a small number of cities (say three or five) to participate in a focused, open learning project
aimed at the better integration and expanded use of carsharing in their cities. The role of national
government would be important, both as a source of funding and also to provide through the
Steering Group not only oversight of the various projects but also to help disseminate the results.
6. Rural Carsharing
At one point during the workshop the groups attention turned to the form of carsharing known as
private or informal carsharing, almost all of which in the Netherlands or other parts of the world
tends to take place under the radar of the statistics and general public knowledge. As part of the
immediate follow-up, the consultant drew up a short strategy note on problems and prospects
specifically in the area of rural carsharing, which can be found on the shared library at
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Going%20Dutch.
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23
Another related possibility to consider might be the award of an outstanding media, print or electronic,
coverage of some aspect of carsharing.
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GOING DUTCH
24
For the record the HDI is a composite index which permits inter-country comparisons based on a composite
figure covering life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and Gross national income at purchasing
power parity per capita
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ANNEXES
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GOING DUTCH
HORIZON 2020:
More recently the Commission has not been looking into our supporting carsharing collaboration or
initiatives per se, but rather in the latest Horizon 2020 program , the Eighth Framework Program for
Research and Innovation, they have set out to encourage and support innovative programs
addressing societal challenges, including in the field of transport but also with reference to issues of
traffic congestion, air problems, resource efficiency, energy and other key areas on which transport
touches. Part of this package is the EUs ambitious Smart, Green and Integrated Transport Program -though once again this program has no specific carsharing component per se.
Thus as of 2014 carsharing has its place in the present program but for now at least it is not taken as
a starting point. However the European Union is active in many related areas and has programs and
resources which can be used to bring in carsharing issues and projects.
CIVITAS
CIVITAS -- www.civitas.eu/ -- is an initiative of the European Union to implement sustainable, clean
and (energy) efficient urban transport measures. CIVITAS 2020 will be the urban mobility aspect of
Horizon 2020.
The initiative is coordinated by member cities. Several measures on car sharing have been
implemented in the CIVITAS initiative in the past. See http://www.civitas.eu/searchall?search_api_views_fulltext=car%20sharing for more. CIVITAS does not at this time have any
programs or working groups specially supporting carsharing. But their mobility management and car
Independent Lifestyles working groups are definitely relevant and will not be surprising to see some
coverage of carsharing there.
POLIS
25
Polis is a network of European cities and regions working together to develop innovative
technologies and policies for local transport. Since 1989, European local and regional authorities
have been working together within Polis to promote sustainable mobility through the deployment of
innovative transport solutions. While there are no current programs in terms of carsharing per se if
you run a key word search on the phrase car sharing on the Polis website you can find some news
from cities on the subject which may lead you to external projects.
25
Contact: Florinda Boschetti. Polis - European Cities and Regions networking for innovative transport
solutions. fboschetti@polisnetwork.eu
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There are presently no EU projects in Polis on car sharing. There is some overlap with the
MOLECULES project which is about deploying ICT-based services for electro-mobility. Demonstration
pilots in Barcelona, Greater Paris and Berlin are testing services for electric car sharing and electric
motorcycle sharing schemes. (See www.molecules-project.eu)
EPOMM 26
EPOMM, the European Platform on Mobility Management, is a network of European governments
that are engaged in Mobility Management (MM). EPOMMs central aims are to make mobility
environmental friendly, socially just and economical by promoting and further developing MM in
Europe.
EPOMM looks at carsharing as one element of an overall integrated mobility platform for cities and
have published a Newsletter on Carsharing in 2011 (to be updated). An earlier edition (2008)
available here - http://epomm.eu/newsletter/electronic/0208_EPOMM_enews.html. They are
considering holding a workshop of their national focal points on the topic of carsharing as part of an
integrated new mobility strategy in the near future.
EUROCITIES
EUROCITIES is a network of major European cities. Members are the elected local and municipal
governments of major European cities. Founded in 1986 they bring together the local governments
of over 130 of Europe's largest cities and 40 partner cities that between them govern 130 million
citizens across 35 countries. More than half of their members and partners cities have working
carshare operations The Mobility Forum promotes sustainable urban mobility, and aims to raise
awareness of the contributions being made and challenges met at local level. The working group,
Developing a new mobility culture, aims at sharing best practice and developing positions linked to
EU policy, for example the white paper on transport and the urban mobility action plan.
26
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GOING DUTCH
TRIP
The database of the European Commissions TRIP The Transport Research and Innovation Portal
serves as a useful library of reports stemming from the EUs activity in this area.
ELTIS
ELTIS the European Local Transport Information Service of the Urban Mobility Portal -- is a
response to this need. An initiative of the European Commission's Directorate General for Energy
and Transport (now split into Energy and Mobility and Transport), ELTIS enables the exchange of
information and experience in the field of urban transport and mobility.
UITP 28
The UITP-- International Association of Public Transport -- launched their Carsharing Platform in
2005, which they decided to bring online to take up the slack of the end of the EC Moses project.
The Platform aims at bringing together all actors across the sector, i.e. car-sharing operators, public
transport operators, organizing authorities, industry, and academic members in order to promote
and develop car- sharing worldwide. In June 2009 the program was reorganized into the UITP
Combined Mobility Platform, with a starting point of public transport in synergy with other modes
like car-sharing, taxi, cycling, etc. Over the last several years this collaborative project has developed
into a useful player bringing together a fair range of the most enterprising carsharing and related
groups. The UITP Combined Mobility Platform meets twice a year and aims at promoting the
integration of all sustainable transport modes through publications, participation in conferences, the
organization of workshops, articles etc. In addition they are in the process of developing an online
Combined Mobility Toolbox, with a major section devoted to carsharing. The next meeting of the
Platform is scheduled for autumn 2014.
27
For details on the 2014 program http://www.mobilityweek.eu. For more information on this years theme,
contact mobilityweek@iclei.org. For general questions: contact@dotherightmix.eu or Ms. Madeleine
Kelly Email: Madeleine.Kelly@ec.europa.eu Tel: + 32 229-63120.
28
Contact: Caroline Cerfontaine . <caroline.cerfontaine@uitp.org>., Manager Transport & Urban Life, UITP
Combined Mobility Platform
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1. Carshare provider guarantees service access to any natural or legal person previously identified.
2. Stations spread throughout city so that users have easy access on foot, bike or public transport.
3. Vehicles may be reserved in advance (the minimum booking time before service is up to 15
minutes), borrowed or stored at any time. Reservation service operates 24 hours 24 7 days 7.
4. Fully automated IT procedures facilitate billing and payment.
5. Rates must include a variable component (time, distance) and optionally a fixed amount for access
to the service.
6. Rates are calculated on the basis of time used and possibly a mileage charge. At the time of
booking and possibly mileage. They take into account all operating costs including fuel, insurance of
all passengers, maintenance, troubleshooting, etc. . It is permissible to charge a minimum fee for 1
hour.
7. Service quality is based on the guarantee of minimum service availability in order to better satisfy
user requests. The operator must ensure that at least 80 % of reservations made 24 hours in
advance are met.
8. The carshare operator guarantees the proper working and maintenance of vehicles, including
safety devices. The user agrees to turn to contribute to these operating conditions.
9. Vehicles must meet the latest Euro standard in force no later than 1 year after the date of entry
into operation for all new vehicle types (e.g. 1 January 2006 , all cars carsharing must meet the Euro
4 standard applicable to new vehicles from 1 January 2005). The fleet vehicles must emit on average
less than 140 g CO2/km in 2007 and less than 120 g CO2/km in 2010 ( manufacturer data).
10. Solutions are sought, with various partners, to encourage people to use public transport and soft
modes.
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D. RECOMMENDED
READING ON
CARSHARING
IN THE
NETHERLANDS
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E. READERS
AND
CONTRIBUTORS
If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.
- Isaac Newton, Letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1675
This section to be completed over the month of October, once the various local and
international reviews and commentaries have been received and processed into the
revised final version of this report.
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F. ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
The following collaborative projects led by the author over the last decades all look into various
aspects of the topic, including specifically new ways of owning and using cars.
1969: New Technology and Transportation: 1970 to 1990 (Euro Finance, Paris)
1975: Paratransit: World Survey of Experience & Prospects (US DOT, Wash. DC)
1999: CARSHARING 2000: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTS MISSING LINK - SPECIAL EDITION OF JOURNAL OF
WORLD TRANSPORT POLICY AND PRACTICE - HTTP://WP.ME/SSKUY-12472
2006/2007: WORLD CARSHARE EXPO AND FORUM. MONACO (2 DAY INVITATIONAL EVENT)
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