The effect of tailored information for the uptake of carsharing, evidence from a field experiment in Oslo

IF 5.5 3区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management Pub Date : 2025-01-19 DOI:10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103121

Alice Ciccone, Paal Brevik Wangsness

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Reducing reliance on private cars is essential for achieving a sustainable urban transport system, with carsharing offering a potentially valuable complement to public transport, walking, and biking. This study evaluates whether personalized information provision can promote carsharing adoption through a large-scale, pre-registered field experiment in Oslo, Norway. Car owners with older, underutilized vehicles were randomly assigned to a control and treatment group based on their residence postcode. About 20,000 car owners in the treatment postcodes received emails and were exposed to an online calculator that compared the costs of owning a car versus using a carsharing service for their travel needs, while the control group received no intervention. The results show a 15% increase in carsharing uptake in treated compared to the control areas, equivalent to approximately 400 new sign-ups over six months. By leveraging objective administrative data, this study provides causal evidence of the impact of tailored information on carsharing adoption.

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来源期刊

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

4.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Environmental Economics and Management publishes theoretical and empirical papers devoted to specific natural resources and environmental issues. For consideration, papers should (1) contain a substantial element embodying the linkage between economic systems and environmental and natural resources systems or (2) be of substantial importance in understanding the management and/or social control of the economy in its relations with the natural environment. Although the general orientation of the journal is toward economics, interdisciplinary papers by researchers in other fields of interest to resource and environmental economists will be welcomed.