Berlin, 16. March 2022 – What are the motives of SHARE NOW users? What do they use car-sharing for? How does all this relate to their frequency of use? In cooperation with the Institute of Spatial Planning, Research Department Transport System Planning at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), the free-floating car-sharing provider SHARE NOW has investigated these questions through a digital questionnaire in an explorative study. A central finding of the study is that car-sharing increases the likelihood of a shift from private individual transport to the use of more shared mobility and thus provides relief in cities. 44 percent of all Viennese SHARE NOW users no longer own a car, 20 percent have reduced the number of their private vehicles in the last five years. "The study shows that many Viennese are willing to give up their own cars and switch to shared mobility. Especially people who use SHARE NOW at least once a week are convinced of the advantages of car-sharing and tend to use the mobility mix of public transport, bicycle or car-sharing more often," says Olivier Reppert, CEO of SHARE NOW.
Benefits and monetary incentives accelerate the switchover
1,907 Viennese SHARE NOW users took part in the study between September 22 and October 16, 2021. In the course of the evaluation, the respondents were divided into four usage types: Heavy users (once a week), regular users (every one to two months), occasional users (one to five times a year), and non-users (less than once a year). Monetary incentives are the main factor in encouraging people to use the service more regularly. According to the survey, 71 percent of respondents said they would use car-sharing more often or switch completely if it were offered as a benefit by their employer. Almost as many (72 percent) would use car-sharing more often or switch completely if parking in the city became more expensive in general, but parking remained free for car-sharing users.
A fast app, no additional refueling costs and free-floating are elementary
"Car-sharing currently does not reach everyone, but mainly well-educated young men. The results of the study complete the picture from other research. But, to get car-sharing into the mainstream, we need to attract new, additional target groups. Therefore, from a research perspective, we are interested in what has prevented different segments of the population - women, for example - from using car-sharing so far and where barriers can be removed," says Prof. Dr. Martin Berger from the Institute for Transportation System Planning at TU Wien.
When deciding in favor of car-sharing, the offer for all usage types in particular plays a central role. The strongest attributes for using car-sharing include "simple and fast operation of the car-sharing app" (important or extremely important for 93 percent), "no additional fuel and insurance costs" (important or extremely important for 91 percent) and "station-independent systems" (important or extremely important for 88 percent). With the SHARE NOW app, the reserved vehicle can be opened within a few seconds after two clicks. Fuel and insurance costs are included with every trip, and with 800 vehicles on 98 square kilometers, SHARE NOW is by far the largest provider of free-floating car-sharing in the Austrian capital.
Key findings of the study are available here.
You can download the full study paper here.