Carsharing is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use day-to-day. The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a democratically-controlled company, public agency, cooperative, ad hoc grouping. Today there are more than one thousand cities in the world where people can carshare.
The term carsharing is also used for carpooling or ride sharing in some places.
Description
Despite its evident English language origins, the term carsharing (earlier often written as two separate words, and still today occasionally hyphenated) is now the widely accepted international term. Synonyms include autodelen in Dutch, autopartage in French, bildeling in Danish, auto condivisa in Italian and bilpool in Swedish. In the United Kingdom the term "car clubs" is used, while "car sharing" is also used to refer to ride sharing.
"Carpooling" or "ride-sharing" refers to the shared use of a car for a specific journey, in particular for commuting to work, often by people who each have a car but travel together to save costs. However, there is a slight terminological hitch in the UK where the term car sharing (two words in this usage) is used for what in the U.S. is called "ride sharing". Carsharing in the sense discussed in this article is a recent development in Britain, and while such plans are still known more known as car clubs (a term which, in the U.S., refers strictly to a club of car hobbyists) the international term carsharing is gradually gaining currency there as well.
As is often the case with innovations that spring up more or less spontaneously in different parts of the world, operations are organized in many different ways in different places, according to the objectives of the organizers and users. A small informal start-up may have only one shared car, and only a handful of sharers. Larger services tend to focus on urban areas where there are many potential customers.
Carsharing differs from traditional car rentals in the following ways:
Some carshare operations (CSOs) cooperate with local car rental firms to offer best value to their customers (in particular in situations where classic rental may be the cheaper option.)
Urban car sharing is often promoted as an alternative to owning a car where public transit, walking, and cycling can be used most of the time and a car is only necessary for out-of-town trips, moving large items, or special occasions. It can also be an alternative to owning multiple cars for households with more than one driver. A long-term study of City CarShare members by Robert Cervero, Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, found that 30 percent of households that joined sold a car; others delayed purchasing one. Transit use, bicycling, and walking also increased among members.
Car sharing is generally not cost-effective for commuting to a full-time job on a regular basis. Most carsharing advocates, operators and cooperating public agencies believe that those who do not drive daily or who drive less than 10,000 kilometers (about 6,200 statute miles) annually may find carsharing to be more cost-effective than car ownership. But variations of 50% on this figure are reported by operators and others depending on local context. If occasional use of a shared vehicle costs significantly less than car ownership, this makes automobile use more accessible to low-income households.
Car sharing can also help reduce congestion and pollution. Replacing private automobiles with shared ones directly reduces demand for parking spaces. The fact that only a certain number of cars can be in use at any one time may reduce traffic congestion at peak times. Even more important for congestion, the strong metering of costs provides a cost incentive to drive less. With owned automobiles many expenses are sunk costs and thus independent of how much the car is driven (such as original purchase, insurance, registration and some maintenance).
Successful carsharing development has tended to be associated mainly with densely populated areas such as city centers and more recently university and other campuses. There are some programs (mostly in Europe) for providing services in lower density and rural areas. Low-density areas are considered more difficult to serve with car sharing because of the lack of alternative modes of transportation and the potentially larger distance that users must travel to reach the cars.
How it works
The technology of CSOs varies enormously, from simple manual systems using key boxes and log books to increasingly complex computer-based systems with supporting software packages that handle a growing array of back office functions. The simplest CSOs have only one or two pick-up points, but more advanced systems have a decentralized network of parking locations (“pods”) stationed in different areas and located for access by public transport.
While differing markedly in their objectives, size, business models, levels of ambition, technology and target markets, these programs do share many features. The more established operations usually require a check of past driving records and a monthly or annual fee in order to become a member. The cost and maximum time a car may be used also varies.
To make a reservation, one can either make a reservation online, by phone, or by text messages depending on the company’s flexibility. Then the company usually asks all the necessary information such as:
•What time will the car be needed?
•How long will the car be in use?
•Where would you like to pick up the car?
•What type of car is preferred?
There is a higher chance of availability the earlier the reservation is. If a reservation is cancelled however, one may still be charged.Once the reservations are completed and confirmed, the car will then be delivered at the time and place scheduled. There will be a small card reader mounted on the windshield. Once the customer places their membership card on the reader, it will use what is called blink technology to activate the time and unlock the car. The reader will not work until it is time for that specific reservation. The keys can then be found somewhere inside the car such as the glove compartment. Depending on the company, the customer may be provided with a key to a lock box that contains the ignition key itself. Once the customer is set, they are off to their next destination.
Although members are responsible for cleaning the car and filling up the tank when low, the car sharing company is generally responsible for the long-term maintenance of the vehicles. Members have to make sure that when they are finished, the car is ready for the next user to move on.
History
The first reference to carsharing in print identifies the Selbstfahrergenossenschaft carshare program in a housing cooperative that got underway in Zürich in 1948, but there was no known formal development of the concept in the next few years. By the 1960s as innovators, industrialists, cities, and public authorities studied the possibility of high-technology transportation—mainly computer-based small vehicle systems (almost all of them on separate guideways)—it was possible to spot some early precursors to present-day service ideas and control technologies.
The early 1970s saw the first whole-system carshare projects. The ProcoTip system in France lasted only about two years. A much more ambitious project called the Witkar was launched in Amsterdam by the founders of the 1968 white bicycles project. A sophisticated project based on small electric vehicles, electronic controls for reservations and return, and plans for a large number of stations covering the entire city, the project endured into the mid-1980s before finally being abandoned.
The 1980s and first half of the 1990s was a "coming of age" period for carsharing, with continued slow growth, mainly of smaller non-profit systems, many in Switzerland and Germany, but also on a smaller scale in Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States. The real watershed in the developmen
Car Rental Switzerland - easyCar
Find Switzerland car rental with easyCar, offering cheap Switzerland car hire. Book your car hire in Switzerland online today
Car Rental in Geneva, Switzerland with Auto Europe
Car Rental in Geneva, Switzerland. Toll free, 24 / 7 call center with international support. No change or cancellation fees. Compare with our Price Match Guarantee.
Visit Switzerland Tours : Car Rental
Visit Switzerland Tours offers car rental through our preferred partner, Sixt Rent a Car, with locations throughout Switzerland. Rates include unlimited mileage, taxes ...
Cheap Car Hire Switzerland – Top Quality Hire Cars in Switzerland
With one quick search you can compare dozens of the major car hire companies in Switzerland. Whether you require long term or short term car hire we can find you the best rental ...
Car Hire Switzerland - Car Rental Switzerland - easyCar
Find car rental in Switzerland with easyCar, offering cheap car hire in Switzerland and throughout Europe. Book your car hire in Switzerland online today
Car Rental in Switzerland with Auto Europe
Car rental in Switzerland. Toll free, 24 / 7 call center with international support. No change or cancellation fees. Compare with Price Match Guarantee.
Cheap Car Hire Switzerland - Book Car Rental in Switzerland
Book cheap car hire in Switzerland securely online. Compare the top car rental providers in Switzerland to find the best deal on car hire in Switzerland.
Cheap Car rental in Switzerland | Compare rates and rent your car ...
Compare rates and hire a cheap car in Switzerland. We compare all the rates of car rental companies for you. This allows you to rent a car easily and at a good price, including ...
Car Hire Worldwide - 1st For Car Rental
Book Online With 1st For Car Rental. We offer affordable France car hire services with a range of vehicle types
Car Rental Switzerland Geneva - Airport CH
Car Rental Switzerland: Worldwide rental cars from major auto hire companies, including National Dollar Sixt Thrifty Advantage Alamo Budget Hertz Europcar and others.