Evaluering af carsharing i Danmark
Summary and conclusions
In the period between December 1999 and September 2000 The Danish Centre for Mobility and Environment carried out an evaluation of carsharing in Denmark for The Danish Environmental Protection Agency and The Danish Transport Council.
The purpose was to evaluate the most recent experiences with carsharing to determine:
 | Whether there are changes occurring in users' transport behaviour. |
| Which environmental effects have occurred due to carsharing. |
| The extent of the potential for carsharing in Denmark. |
| What resistance exists preventing further implementation of carsharing in Denmark. |
Central Findings.
The research findings give a clear picture of the most recent and expected effects of carsharing in Denmark:
| 1. | The typical user of carsharing is at an age where a family has been established. That is to say there is a partner and children living at home. The users of carsharing are thus at an age where it would be expected, with a certain probability, that they have their own car. And at the same time an income allowing economic opportunity for having their own car. Nevertheless they choose carsharing instead of their own private car. |
| 2. | Carsharing implies a number of environmental benefits: |
| The number of car journeys are reduced for the users of carsharing. |
| The number of cars are reduced – carsharing replaces, on average, approx. 5 private cars. |
| The car is better utilised. |
| The energy consumption for journeys becomes more efficient. |
| Car production is reduced. |
| Public transport is better utilised. |
| 3. | On the basis of certain criteria, 23% of all Danish driving licence holders are potential car-sharers. At the present time, less-that is 17% indicate interest for carsharing. |
| 4. | The primary resistance against carsharing are to be found in the categories of infrastructure, the private economy and factors of behaviourism. The important initiatives to break down these resistances are; amongst others : |
| An integration of carsharing in local public transport planning. |
| A working partnership with the public transport system. |
| Incentives for car owners that give up the car for the advantages of carsharing. |
| An intensified information campaign. |
| Further research into behaviourism. |
What is Carsharing?
Carsharing is an international name for a scheme where users share access to one or more cars. Instead of owning a car, a car is rented but on terms which are essentially different from a normal car rental company. For the user of carsharing there is unlimited access and the cost is calculated on the basis of use.
The administration of carsharing is carried out by carsharing organisations which have
control and responsibility for a number of cars. The organisation allows members and
customers access to the cars which can be ordered by telephone or over the Internet.
The cars can be used for longer or shorter periods and for as little as 1 hour at a time.
There are different types of cars available and these are parked at a permanent and secure
parking place. Ideally, this is to allow users the shortest possible distance to the
nearest collection/delivery base. From here the car is collected and returned by the user.
Carsharing in Europe.
Even though carsharing is an absolutely new phenomenon in Denmark, the concept has
existed for more than 50 years. In 1948 the first carsharing organisation started in
Zurich, Switzerland. At that time there was a need to share the economic burdens
associated with car ownership after the Second World War.
In the 1980's a series of initiatives saw the light of day in several European countries.
This was the beginning of a rapid development in the establishing of carsharing
organisations, mainly in Germany and Switzerland. Today there are approx. 200 active
carsharing organisations in approx. 550 towns in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Holland,
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, France and Italy. Together these carsharing
organisations have more than 130,000 members.
Seen from a historic perspective carsharing organisations have developed from a relatively informal setting to a more formal and professional framework. As carsharing organisations have grown larger, the organisational form has typically changed from the informal and association based towards the more formal and professional. Today the largest carsharing organisations in Europe are organised as limited companies.
Carsharing in Denmark.
Carsharing was introduced in Denmark in December 1997 with the establishing of Odense Car Club. In the autumn of 1998 Hertz Car Share in Copenhagen and Aarhus Car Share followed. Since then a number of other local based associations have been established. These include Farum, Silkeborg and Holstebro.
Together the existing carsharing organisations, as of 1st January 2000, comprised of 57 cars and approx. 800 members.
Today the organisational structures of the Danish carsharing organisations range from the association based (non-profit) to the different limited companies (not for profit) and the commercial (for profit). Research has shown that the organisational form is of minor importance for the majority who are interested users of carsharing.
In spite of the difference in organisational form the Danish carsharing organisations function almost the same for the users. An initial membership fee is paid together with a possible deposit to the organisation. In addition a monthly membership subscription is also payable. On top of this there is the additional usage cost based on an hourly rate and a per kilometre charge for the distance travelled. These rates differ in accordance with the type of car used.
Expenditure and Incentive Structure.
One of the fundamental differences between carsharing organisations and private car
ownership is the expenditure structure. A privately owned car has high fixed expenditure
and low variable expenditure. The exact opposite applies in the case of a shared car
whereby the fixed costs are low and the variable costs are high.
A privately owned, medium sized car, typically has fixed costs at 40-50,000 kroners per
year and variable costs of between 0,90 -1,10 kroner per kilometre.
A shared car comparably has fixed costs of between 2 – 4,000 kroners per year and
variable costs between 3 - 4 kroners per kilometre.
The structure of expenditure in carsharing means that the incentive to reduce driving is considerable. This is due to the fact that the variable costs are 3-4 times higher than for a privately owned car. This difference leads to a much more conscientious transport behaviour where the means of transport for every single trip has to be carefully considered. This also means that the public transport becomes more competitive as the ticket prices for buses and trains are now compared with 3-4 times higher marginal costs.
For the individual user of carsharing, the ''opposite/reversed'' structure of expenditure leads to considerable savings when compared to having a privately owned car, if one has a low yearly number of journeys. These savings will gradually become less as the number of car journeys increase until a break-even point, after which carsharing will be more expensive than having a privately owned car.
The research shows that it is reasonable to estimate the break-even point at approx. 15,000 km per year provided comparisons are made with identical new cars. If a comparison is made with a 5-6 year old car the break-even point can be estimated at approx. 10,000 km per year.
Carsharing and Society.
Theoretically the advantages of carsharing can be primarily classified into two categories:
Mobility benefits and efficiency benefits.
Mobility benefits imply that more people have access to a means of greater mobility. In other words there are advantages to be gained for those persons who did not have the means to a car before. They now have the opportunity to participate in activities they could not do previously.
Efficiency benefits imply that both society and the individual user receive an economic gain. These include the users of carsharing saving money in relation to having their own car. Whilst at the same time it is possible to choose between different car types for different purposes and avoid maintenance and repair costs.
At the same time society also obtains several infrastructural gains in the form of the so called TDM (Transport Demand Management) advantages. These are the advantages that occur as a consequence of lower transport requirements.
These important advantages are obtained by considering carsharing as an element in intermodal transport behaviour. Here carsharing has an advantage when used for medium long journeys. Whilst it is even more advantageous to use public transport for the longer journeys and to cover short trips by walking or cycling, or by using the local bus or taxi. Moreover, carsharing can be an advantage when used for part of a journey combined with other transport forms. Already one can find a long list of positive experiences with interaction between carsharing and public transport, particularly in Germany and Switzerland
The Users of Carsharing.
The research shows that the typical users of carsharing are between 30 and 50 years of age, are co-habitating and have children living at home. They have a higher level of education, a medium or high income level and are employed in the public sector.
Therefore the typical users of carsharing are hence in an age group where they have established a family and those generally have the economic means to buy a car. The users of carsharing are therefore at an age where it would be expected that they, with a high probability, have their own car – and at the same time have an income that gives them the economic opportunity to have their own car.
Carsharing is a transport form that gives access to a car when required and is more economically advantageous in relation to a private car, especially for those with a minimal journey need. It would therefore be predictable that carsharing, first and foremost, would attract groups with a lower income and a minimal journey need. However, the research shows clearly that carsharing is not a low income phenomenon which allows a less expensive possibility for the families that do not have the economic means for their own private car.
Environmental Effects of Carsharing.
The results from a number of foreign researches suggest that carsharing has a positive environmental effect. This conclusion is confirmed by the results from research of carsharing in Denmark:
| The number of car journeys are reduced for former car owners. |
The research shows that users of carsharing that previously had their own car, drive
significantly fewer journeys in a car than before membership.
The research also shows that users of carsharing that were former car owners, today have a
car journey requirement that is not higher than other former car owners.
| The number of car journeys increase for former non car owners. |
The research shows that former non-car owners increase the number of car journeys after
becoming a member of a carsharing organisation.
However, when the combined number of carsharing users are considered, that is to say both
former car owners and non-car owners, carsharing leads to a reduction in the number of car
journeys in proportion to members' previous number of car journeys.
| The number of cars are reduced. |
The research shows that a shared car today replaces between 4.6 and 6.2 private cars. Furthermore, it can be expected that a continued increase in membership of the Danish CSOs' will lead to carsharing gradually replacing other cars. This is partly because the CSOs' can optimise the operation with a rising number of members, and partly because the percentage of car owners amongst the members may be expected to rise concurrently with a larger spread and knowledge of carsharing.
| The car is better utilised. |
The research shows that carsharing, first and foremost, is used for non-daily transportation where there is typically more than one person.
| Energy consumption becomes more efficient. |
The research shows that users of CSOs' on average drive in newer and smaller cars with better fuel consumption. This is the alternative to what they would have done as private car owners.
| Car production is reduced. |
As a logical consequence of the reduction of produced cars, carsharing results in a reduction of the number of cars.
| Public transport utilised. |
Carsharing does not imply a lesser use of public transport. The research shows that users of carsharing use public transport just as frequently as non-car users and far more frequently than car owners.
The Potential for Carsharing in Denmark
Even though carsharing in Denmark has experienced a relatively large growth from 30 users in December 1997 to approx. 800 users in January 2000, it is still a very marginal phenomenon. The developments in a number of other European countries, particularly Switzerland and Germany, indicate a greater potential.
The potential for carsharing in Denmark is estimated in this evaluation on the basis of a number of objective criteria. Persons that meet these criteria are considered to be potential car-sharers.
The objective criteria for these potential car users are:
| That they live in a town with a minimum of 20,000 residents. |
| That they do not use a car for journeys to the work place or do not have less than 5 km to the work place. Irrespective of whether they commute by car at the present time. |
| That they have a yearly kilometre total of less than 15,000. |
The conclusion is that 23% of all Danish driving licence holders based on these objective criteria are potential car-sharers. The existing car owners account for 61% of this potential whilst non-car owners account for the remaining 39%.
If taken into consideration that the break-even point is reduced to approx. 10,000 km
per year, and provided carsharing is compared with used cars at 5-6 yr. old, the potential
is reduced proportionally to 16% . The existing car owners account for 44% of this
potential whilst non-car owners account for the remaining 56%.
However, the research also shows that the potential car-sharers are not less interested in
carsharing than the control group generally where 17% express an interest for carsharing.
On the other hand 39% of non-car owners are interested in carsharing against only 12% of car owners. The interest for carsharing thus depends, first and foremost, on whether one is a car owner and not on whether one travels to and from work without inconvenience and without a car, or whether one can even obtain an economic saving.
Possibilities for the Development of the Potential.
There are three areas with good possibilities for the development of the potential of carsharing based on objective criteria.
Firstly, more than half the Danish population live outside of towns or in towns with a population of less than 20,000 residents. Other European experience, particularly from Switzerland, suggests that in line with a rising number of users and on the condition of a well functioning partnership, there is an opportunity for establishing attractive carsharing solutions in towns with less than 20,000 residents. Thus it is also reasonable to suggest that in the future, persons in towns with less than 20,000 residents will be potential car-sharers.
Secondly, the initiatives which reduce the dependence of the car for commuting will encourage an expansion of potential for carsharing. These initiatives could include pool driving, a better maintained public transport and an increase in the use of employees working from home. Not least will an intensified effort to find transportation solutions in the business community bring about locally based solutions that minimise the dependence on the car for commuting.
Thirdly, the potential can be expanded through initiatives that increase economic gain by carsharing. General subsidies or tax reductions/-abolishments are one of the possibilities. Others could be road-pricing or other additional costs that increase marginal expenditure for private car ownership.
Resistance against the Implementation of Carsharing.
The results of the research show that the resistance that exists against the implementation of carsharing in Denmark primarily affects the demand. It cannot be precisely ascertained the primary resistance against the establishing of carsharing organisations but the expenditures for establishing and the operation of a carsharing organisation can of course be adapted, with the indirect purpose of furthering demand.
On the demand side the research has ascertained three categories of resistance. These being the infrastructural, the economic and behaviourism.
The infrastructural resistance concerns, primarily, access to expedient parking facilities in the towns together with insufficient public transport. An integration of carsharing in the local traffic plan together with a close partnership with the public transport system has to be seen as an essential initiative to secure a wider spread of carsharing.
The cause of economic resistance is primarily a result of the tendency of car owners to compare marginal expenditure and not total expenditure, by which the real economic savings by carsharing is not known. In addition there is also the economic expenditure associated with the giving up of a car in connection with membership of a carsharing organisation. Initiatives that encourage or help towards a better general awareness of transport expenditure are therefore desirable. In the same way a financial incentive will particularly rectify the problems associated with the giving up of a car.
The resistance associated with behaviourism also plays a central role. There is a need for further research to identify the nature of this resistance so as to indicate the possibilities for its reduction. An intensified information campaign will presumably help to partially reduce this resistance.