Comfort First! Vehicle-Sharing Systems in Urban Residential Areas: The Importance for Everyday Mobility and Reduction of Car Use among Pilot Users

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore to what extent a vehicle-sharing system (VSS) that includes electric bicycles and cars, connected to a block of apartments in a middle-sized city in Sweden, can cater for individuals’ everyday mobility needs and reduce the need to own a car. The study connects to two different research areas: the usage of VSS and mobility transitions through pilot projects. Our results show a reluctance to voluntarily sacrifice comfort regarding everyday energy use. Owning and using a private car is to a high degree interpreted as convenient. The results from this study suggest that a VSS has the potential to satisfy mobility needs for people living in urban areas. However, in order for it to be successful, both in terms of satisfying mobility needs as well as being regarded as an attractive alternative to private car ownership, we argue that reconfiguration of modal choice and accessibility on different sociotechnical levels is a necessity. Interventions such as satisfactory public transport and better infrastructure for cycling and walking are suggested, as well as stricter parking regulations, banning cars in certain areas and making car use and ownership more expensive. In other words, the deployment of both soft and hard measures in combination is necessary.

Electric carsharing and micromobility: A literature review on their usage pattern, demand, and potential impacts

“…Compared to door-to-door car trips, travelers usually face extra physical, cognitive and affective efforts if they would take an inter-modal trip (Stradling et al, 2000): physical effort is needed during transfer between modes when the stations for different modes are not at the same location; it is also cognitively demanding to deal with searching and payment of different mobility services; as a result, these extra efforts will harm the perception of shared mobility services as an inconvenient and uncomfortable option compared to car (Berg et al, 2019). Therefore, the integration shall aim to reduce these different aspects of extra effort and lower the barriers for switching toward adopting shared emobility service.…”

The Complexity of Changes in Modal Choice: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…This is in line with previous research (Sjöman, Ringenson & Kramers, 2020) which showed that most participants were insensitive to the costs associated with the use car. Instead, convenience, in the sense of how easy, effortless, and smooth the service is, seems to be more important (Berg, Henriksson & Ihlström, 2019). Another, or complementary, explanation for the modal change effect in all three groups is that individuals who agreed to participate in the study might have reached further in their transition to change than those not willing to participate (Wallén Warner, Björklund & Andersson, 2021).The three groups might even have different reasons for increasing their use of public transport overall and decreasing their use of the car.…”

“…A number of studies have been carried out to investigate the determinants of present modal choice, and their significant effects (Acker et al, 2007;Berg, Henriksson & Ihlström, 2019;Cao, 2015;Cervero & Day, 2008;Cheng, Chen, De Vos, Lai, & Witlox, 2019;Naess, 2006;Naess, 2013). Those studies contributed to a comprehensive knowledge foundation for understanding the dependencies of travel behavior from different perspectives among which, individual and environmental aspects formed the key factors.…”

The Complexity of Space Utilization and Environmental Pollution Control in the Main Corridor of Makassar City, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…The pattern of space utilization that tends to change in the corridor of the Urip Sumoharjo Perintis Kemerdekaan road is positively associated with an increase in population mobility and an increase in the flow of transportation movements from the direction of Maros Regency to the city center, industrial areas, ports, trade centers, and Hasanuddin International Airport. Thus, it is very important to control building densification and reduce private vehicle ownership towards the use of public transport [106]. Furthermore, it is very important for the development of freight transport to be aligned with efforts to save the environment in a sustainable manner [107].…”