How does carsharing impact private car ownership and the use of other travel modes? A review of different operational carsharing schemes

Abstract

Carsharing, as an innovative mobility service, is expected to exert either substitution or complementary effects on the use of other travel modes through interactions within urban environments. Despite numerous studies examining these effects, there is no consensus regarding carsharing's impact on travel modes and the overall transportation system. Moreover, existing literature often neglects the differences among various carsharing schemes. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of emerging literature on the impacts of carsharing on private car ownership and other travel modes, focusing on individual and behavioural perspectives. The primary objective is to interpret and discuss how different carsharing schemes (such as, peer-to-peer, one-way station/zone-based, round-trip station/zone-based, free-floating) influence travel behaviour in terms of mode complementarity and mode substitution. We synthesise these findings in a conceptual model illustrating the impact of carsharing on private car ownership and the use of other travel modes, discuss the distinctions between various carsharing schemes and travel modes, and outline directions for future research.