Abstract
The recently observed increase in the number of car-sharing operators using a fleet of electric vehicles created an opportunity to expand existing ecological travel chains. Electromobility is one of travelling options that reduces the transport carbon footprint. The goal of the chapter is to draw attention to the need of using car-sharing to promote environmentally friendly behavior and overcome concerns related to using an electric vehicle. The work presents the development of electric car-sharing in Europe and indicates challenges for further expansion of electromobility. By adding electric-car-sharing to the travel chain, the perception of ecological travelling significantly changes, since it combines various advantages for the user (e.g., comfort of travelling and individual trip) and a positive effect of such a choice on the environment and the city.
TopE-Car-Sharing, Or Classic Car-Sharing With A Fleet Of Electric Vehicles: Characteristics, Classification, And Market’S Practices
The development of various forms of urban mobility designed to reduce negative impact of traffic on the natural environment has become a major focus of the European Union in the context of “green transport” and “clean energy” (“Clean Power for Transport: A European alternative fuels strategy”, COM (2013). The promotion of transport using alternative energy sources fits very well into this trend. Currently, a particularly strong emphasis is put on mobility services based on the use of electric vehicles (“Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market, Opportunities and Challenges for Europe”, COM 208 (2016). From the point of view of an individual user, electromobility is costly. Apart from a significant cost, it still struggles against limited availability to infrastructure dedicated to electric vehicles (Sierpiński, 2018; Turoń, 2018; Turoń & Sierpiński, 2018; Turoń et al., 2018) and reluctance of users to a new technology (Carleton (2016). A solution to the above is to offer such transport services to the public. It includes, for example, ride-sourcing based on the use of electric vehicles (e.g. Uber), e-hailing (e.g. Taxify) or electric car-sharing. From the point of view of the user and her/his experience with electromobility, car-sharing provides the largest possibilities to drive and short-term use of electric vehicles.
Key Terms in this Chapter
ICT: Acronym from information and communication technologies; concept covering technologies that process, collect and transmit information in electronic form.
Travel Chain: The sum of travels made on a given day. Travel chain is usually closed, assuming that the destination of the last travel is the origin of the first one. Various means of transport can be used in the travel chain.
New Mobility: New, intelligent mobility combines classical mobility with the use of so-called modern technologies, mainly the benefits of the Internet and the use of mobile devices such as smartphones.
Travel Behavior: Defines the approach of people to travel by different means of transport and in a variety of motivations, as well as the relationship between the decisions taken, and socio-demographic factors and spatial. The choices made are based, among others, on current capabilities, limitations, and habits.
Public Transport: Publicly available regular transport of people carried out at specific intervals (public transport schedule) and on a specified line or transport network.
Electromobility: Electro-mobility; general issues regarding the planning, implementation and use of electric vehicles. This term refers to the technical as well as operational aspects of electric vehicles, technologies and charging infrastructure. The term also applies to social, economic and legal issues related to the design, production, purchase and use of electric vehicles.
Sustainable Transport/Sustainable Transport Development: Refers to the broad subject of transport that is sustainable in the senses of social, environmental and climate impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; the source of energy; and the infrastructure used to accommodate the transport (roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and terminals). Transport operations and logistics as well as transit-oriented development are also involved in evaluation. Transportation sustainability is largely being measured by transportation system effectiveness and efficiency as well as the environmental and climate impacts of the system.
Electric Vehicle: EV; the vehicle (i.e., electric bicycle, electric scooter, electric car, tram, electric bus, trolleybus, electric train) having one or more electric motors as a drive.
Ride-Sourcing: It is an ongoing arrangement where: the driver make a car available for public hire for passengers. a passenger uses a website or app provided by a third party (facilitator) to request a ride, for example Uber, GoCatch, and others.
Travel Motivation: Determine the destination by using the needs, not spatially (among others work, education, shopping, culture, etc.).
Transport: The movement of humans, animals and goods from one location to another. In other words, the action of transport is defined as a particular movement of an organism or thing from a point A to a Point B.
Mobility: Mobility (incl. transport mobility, urban mobility), so-called communication behaviors that define as a whole of views, opinions and convictions related to the intention of overcoming space. In order to meet communication needs, many options are available for all types of travel purposes, taking into account different motivations, such as: travelling to work, for educational purposes, for recreational purposes, etc.
Car-Sharing: Carsharing, car sharing (in AU, NZ, CA, TH, US), or car clubs (in: UK) is a model of short-time car rental where people rent cars often by the minutes. Cars-sharing gives the opportunity to drive individual car without owning it. Carsharing is part of shared mobility concept. Carsharing enables an occasional use of a vehicle or access to different brands and models of vehicles – from small urban cars to vans and premium vehicles. The renting organization may be a commercial business. Users can also organize as a company, public agency, cooperative or grouping with using internet platforms.
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS): An information and communication system aimed at providing services related to different types of transport and traffic management, allowing better information to different users and ensuring safer, more coordinated and “smarter” use of transport networks. Such a system combines electronics, telecommunications and information technology with transport engineering to plan, design, operate, maintain, and manage transport system.
Shared Economy: Social and economic phenomenon, consisting in a fundamental change of organizational and distribution models going towards dispersed networks of interconnected individuals and communities, covering both the direct provision of services by people as well as sharing, co-creation, co-buying, etc., enabling a radical increase in the efficiency of use resources.
Urban Zone: Selected fragment of the area, characterized by a specific level of urbanization (among others, higher level of population, and industrial areas), having the most often organized form of public transport and a dense transport network.
Shared Mobility: Shared mobility refers to the shared used of a vehicle, bicycle, scooter or other transportation mode. It is a transportation strategy that allows users to access transportation services on an as-needed basis.
E-Car-Sharing: The concept of car-sharing based on using electric vehicles in the car fleet.