Shared Mobility for Innovative and Inclusive Green Cities

The Transport 2025 project "Shared Mobility for Innovative and Inclusive Green Cities" investigates drivers behind a further upscaling of shared mobility in cities, whether car sharing or bike sharing. We address shared mobility along and across each of the sustainability, the environmental, the economic and the social. And carsharing and bikesharing are seen both from a user perspective, from a provider perspective, and from a politico-institutional perspective. The Norwegian policy goal of zero growth of car use in city regions has put emphasis on innovative and alternative mobility solutions. Both the push from urban traffic and congestion problems and the pull from new convenient app-based mobility solutions have paved the way for a rapid increase in shared mobility. Environmentally and economically, shared mobility is both energy, space and cost efficient. Compared to a private car that is used in average only half an hour a day, a shared car utilises the car?s idle capacity and might replace approx. 10 private cars on the roads. Socially, carsharing provides access to a car occasionally for those that are not in need of a car on a daily regular basis. Seeing carsharing in light of social equity, social accessibility and distributional effects is an interesting and less recognized aspect of this innovative mobility solution. From organised carsharing was first established in Norway in 1995, there are now more than 26 000 members of cooperative car clubs or users of commercial car pools (B2C). In addition, the so-called P2P carsharing schemes when private car owners rent out their cars to other private persons, have had a tremendous growth since it was launched late in 2015. There are now more than 200 000 Norwegians that are members, users or registered subscribers of a carsharing scheme. They represent approx. 5 percent of all driving licence holders, almost the same share as in the pioneering carsharing country in Europe, Switzerland. The project consists of three work packages: First, from a user perspective we analyse who uses car/bike sharing, why and how this affects their daily mobility patterns and environmental consequences. The surveys sent from the project to all carsharers and to a representative sample of the general population, late autumn 2017, reveal that carsharers are younger and that more men than women are user/member of carsharing, whereas women express a larger interest. Living in urban areas, with good public transport supply and bad parking conditions, is not so important as the mobility practice one has today. Those who bicycle a lot and have a low car use are definitely more interested in carsharing than others. When it comes to motivation for carsharing, the economic and environmental considerations are the more important. Also, urban and green values mean a lot for appreciating carsharing, whether as a user or as a potential user. Second, from a supplier perspective we envisage which organisations and business models that provide sustainable upscaling of shared mobility, from centrally organised car cooperatives or commercial car pools (B2C) to car exchange between private persons (P2P). The rapid growth in different car sharing schemes appeared initially as mutually stimulating, across the different business and organizational models. However, with recent continuous introduction of new carsharing providers, also the internal competition seems to have been more intensified. Third, from a policy perspective we examine the policy development in the shared mobility field, to clarify and evaluate the policy measures and implementation for an upscaling of car and bike sharing in the cities. We see a noticeable change when it comes to policy and administrative preoccupation and support, from an almost ignorance few years ago to an enthusiastic backing, across political parties. The project has had several user presentations, research workshops and seminars. In January 2018 the project organized a two-day?s workshop in Oslo with the Dutch research partners, other researchers and stakeholders such as the carsharing and bikesharing providers and policymakers. In January 2019 the project?s results were presented at a carsharing workshop organised by TOI. There are one PhD-student and three master students connected to the project. Knowledge is communicated via scientific publications, reports and interactive national and international stakeholder workshops, and is expected to support policy innovations and increase the innovative potential amongst shared mobility suppliers.

The project has had actively contributing partners from the carsharing providers. In return, the project has had many meetings and presentations for the carsharing providers, their employees and board members, to discuss findings and future possibilities. This interaction has been of utmost value for the project for its access to member and user data, but assumingly also mutually beneficial. By the project the various carsharing providers have had a meeting place, where also important policymakers from the cities and state (road) authorities have been present. By the project's many presentations in seminars, meetings and newspapers, it is reason to believe that the project has contributed in setting shared mobility and carsharing particularly on a public and policy agenda. The project has still an active role in contributing in the communicative endeavour in research and policymaking to inform about shared mobility as an increasingly relevant sustainable urban mobility solution.

Worldwide and in Norway, cities face challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air and noise pollution, while increasing the accessibility and liveability of residential, work and living environments to all citizens. Car and bike sharing could provide solutions to these challenges, thanks to optimized use of vehicles, space, energy, financial and material resources, as well as potential benefits for social inclusion. However, while shared mobility is rapidly increasing and political support is shifting in its favour (in Norway and abroad), publically funded scientific research into this phenomenon is still in its infancy. It is our primary objective to develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary understanding of the conditions that support the upscaling of shared urban mobility and define its environmental, social and economic sustainability. Hereto, first, from a user perspective we analyse who uses car/bike sharing, why and how this affects their daily mobility patterns and subsequent CO2-emissions. Second, from a supplier perspective we envisage which organisations and business models could provide sustainable upscaling of shared mobility. And third, from a policy perspective we examine policy change/innovation, and how to define a policy mix that best supports the sustainable upscaling of car and bike sharing. Anticipated Norwegian insights will be contrasted with findings from the Netherlands. The consortium consists of an interdisciplinary group of Norwegian and Dutch researchers, as well as a user group of societal stakeholders. Knowledge is communicated via scientific publications, reports and interactive national and international stakeholder workshops, and is expected to support policy innovations and increase the innovative potential amongst shared mobility suppliers.