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CARSHARING/ EUROPE
source: www.carsharing.org
www.greenhouse.gov.au/tdm/
publications/pubs/carsharing-dec
04.pdf
www.communauto.com/abonnes/
SperlingShaheenW.html
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Historically, carsharing efforts mostly emerged from individuals who sought the benefits of cars, but were ideologically opposed to widespread car use… - many carsharing organisations (CSOs) were initiated in the 1990s, and a few even earlier, mostly in Europe. Most involved shared usage of a few vehicles by a group of individuals. Until the late 1990s, virtually all CSO start-ups were subsidised with public funding (and a few by corporate subsidies);
- one of the earliest European experiences with carsharing can be traced to a cooperative, known as ‘Sefage’, which originated in Zurich, Switzerland in 1948. Elsewhere, a series of ‘public car’ experiments were attempted, but failed, including a carsharing initiative known as ‘Procotip’, begun in Montpellier, France in 1971, and another called ‘Witkar’, deployed in Amsterdam in 1973;
- more successful experiences with carsharing began in Europe in the late 1980s. In 1999, approximately 200 CSOs were active in 450 cities throughout Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, France, and Italy, collectively claiming over 130,000 participants;
- the first commercially successful carsharing organisations began in Switzerland (1987) and Germany (1988). Two grassroots CSOs in Switzerland achieved growth of 50% per year and quickly moved through several stages of organisational structure, service quality and technology. In 1997, they merged to form a for-profit business ‘Mobility Carsharing Switzerland’, (Mobility®) with a combined membership of over 11,000 and a fleet of 600 motor vehicles. Today, Mobility® is the biggest carsharing organisation in the world, with over 50,000 members and a fleet of 1,750 motor vehicles operating in more than 400 towns and cities across Switzerland;
- Drive Stadtauto (formerly StattAuto Berlin) begun in 1988, now offers over 1,000 motor vehicles at 500 different locations in 50 cities. Both Drive Stadtauto and Mobility in the late ‘90s entered a modernisation phase, moving from manual ‘key box’ operations to a system of smart card technologies for making automatic and advanced reservations, accessing vehicle keys, securing vehicles from theft, and facilitating billing;
- in the early 1990s, Austria and the Netherlands followed the success of Switzerland and Germany on a smaller scale and carsharing has since spread to Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Spain;
- carsharing in Italy is unique because of the combination of government regulation and private sector operation of the service, developed with the objective of creating an integrated national system. In 2004, the Italian national carsharing network was active in 13 cities with 80 vehicles and over 1,000 clients. Operators anticipate significant growth in the short term, expecting that in five years more than 4,500 people will use more than 230 shared vehicles; (1)
- the Easycar® Club business, started in March 2003 in the United Kingdom, is part of a wider strategy promoted by the EasyGroup® Company, which focuses on delivering a low-cost, streamlined service across a number of transport modes. The group includes Easyjet® low cost flights and Easycar® rental. The pilot carsharing scheme in North London, at the time of writing has 1,400 members and 5 cars. The objective is to establish up to 30 new car club sites in the UK during 2004, each with 50 cars; (1)
- a pan-European organisation, European Carsharing, (ECS), began in 1991, enabling carsharing across the continent and establishing common standards. ECS provides some assistance to new carsharing organisations. It is dominated by the big German and Swiss organisations and as a founding member, Mobility® handles reservations and bookings at the head Office for vehicle use in over 80 European cities. ECS membership has grown 50–60% annually. Today, ECS has 40 participant organisations, which operate shared motor vehicles for about 56,000 members in over 550 towns.
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