What hinders car owners’ participation in private car sharing? Insights from a business perspective

Abstract

Private car sharing emerges as a viable solution due to flexibility, cost-effectiveness for users, and profit benefit for car owners. However, the number of shared private cars remains relatively low, and empirical evidence regarding car owners' sharing intention is scarce. This paper aims to identify the factors influencing car owners' participation decision in private car sharing from the perspective of business operators who provide various services, such as cleanliness, maintenance, insurance and inspection. In addition, we examine how latent factors like privacy protection, trust, social value, hygiene, orderliness, and utilitarian value impact car owners' willingness to participate in different business models. A mixed logit hybrid choice model, incorporating latent factors and random parameters to capture preference heterogeneity, was developed using data from a stated choice experiment conducted online in Hiroshima. The results indicate that car owners generally dislike the additional insurance and maintenance costs associated with business models, but free car inspections and cleaning services significantly increase their participation intention. Trust and social value positively influence adoption, while concerns about hygiene and orderliness negatively affect decisions. These insights can help private car-sharing enterprises enhance market penetration by addressing key behavioral factors.