Shared Mobility, Car Ownership and Urban Parking Management
Subject
Private vehicles are most of the time not in use, but remain parked. Depending on local regulations, a vast number of these idle vehicles are parked on public ground. This becomes a problem especially in urban areas with limited space and high land prices. Vehicle sharing is thought to be one way towards less idle privately owned vehicles while maintaining a high accessibility in cities. However, carsharing has not gained substantial market shares so far and depends in most cases on political support, in form of privileged parking space or otherwise. Can new vehicle technology in the form of autonomous vehicles bring the breakthrough for carsharing?
Scientific challenges
The interrelation between the availability of mobility services, mobility choices and mobility policies in the light of vehicle sharing and potentially shared autonomous vehicles can be partly observed, but the interactions remain difficult to describe. On the one hand this has to do with the little experience gained so far with (autonomous) shared vehicles and passenger response towards these services, and on the other hand with the complexity of the interrelation. The latter will be approached by applying an agent-based modelling approach and the development of policy scenarios. Furthermore a car ownership model taking the use of car sharing into account has to be developed in order to capture also the long-term effects in this interrelations.
Societal relevance
Relieving urban space from idle vehicles can be an important contribution to make more efficient use of urban space. Carsharing is believed to be one strategy to contribute to a less car-dependent urban lifestyle and reduce the number of idle vehicles. Car sharing in all forms is therefore welcomed with open arms in many cities around the world. This research project will allow formulating policy recommendations on how carsharing and parking management can be combined in order to achieve the best synergetic effects, especially with a view to future carsharing services operated by autonomous vehicles. An open-source tool will be made available, allowing to test different parking policy strategies and specifications of carsharing services.
Konstanze WinterStart/end date: 1st of September 2015 / September 2018 |