STADTAUTO CAR-SHARING / CITYCARCLUB - A PRACTICAL STEP TOWARDS AN INTERMODAL AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT

The provision of sufficient road space for the increasing number of cars is a problem that is not yet being sufficiently addressed. This paper discusses the experience of StadtAuto Car-Sharing, a CityCarClub scheme, whose approach is to provide a car on call as an alternative to owning a private car. It is more sustainable than rising car ownership, and provides a valuable 'mobility insurance' supplement to public transport in situations when it does not meet user demands. Car-sharing organisations of this type, offering a modern mobility service, have been developed mainly in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and The Netherlands. Car sharing is easy and reliable, and requires booking, receiving a car at the required location, using the car, and paying monthly. Each car-sharing vehicle replaces five to ten private cars. Such services have been found to change individual mobility patterns so that fuel consumption, air pollution, and noise are reduced. Car-sharers drive cars less, and use public transport more often. Car-sharing has the advantage that many people use few cars of the types that they need, and only as long as they need them. As a result, urban life will become more attractive. For the covering abstract, see IRRD 896867.