As shared mobility took a step forward during these last few years let’s take a look at the benefits of this new way of travelling, especially carsharing which seems to interest more and more cars manufacturers and high-tech companies. Does the use of carsharing really reduce our greenhouse gas emissions? Does it prevent traffic and parking congestion, making our cities way more liveable? And could it help us opting for alternative ways of travelling when car use is not required?
Population in big cities is growing, and it’s far from over. Large towns are expanding to welcome new inhabitants, but roads infrastructures are often not suited to follow this urban transformation. And so the traffic jams begin. Besides being stressful and unnerving, it also represents an important source of air pollution. So why not try another way of travelling, apart from a personal vehicle use?
In a study concerning one-way carsharing in North America the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), in partnership with car2go, determined that this choice of mobility has an noticeable impact on urban mobility and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This three-year study, lead by the TSCR, was conducted by gathering data in five cities across the United States of America. The main results? A reduction of the number of cars on roads and a less intense occupation of parking spaces on city street. Other numbers are also interesting to point out:
The study also estimated that a one-way carsharing service such as car2go prevent 10 to 29 million VMT per year per city, which by extension removed on average between 5.5 to 12.7 metric tons of GHG emissions per carshared vehicle annually.
Opting for carsharing is also a way to drive a vehicle perfectly suited to every situation, and they are way more capable of change then personal vehicles. Indeed, a carsharing fleet will be composed of more fuel efficient vehicles, more recent and eco-friendly than your average car. For people who still feel the necessity of owning their own vehicle, carsharing can be at least a way to test more efficient vehicles and accomplish a small change to make their daily travels a little bit more sustainable.
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