Advantages And Disadvantages Of Carsharing

What a few years ago was an alternative for environmental sustainability, today it is consolidated as a characteristic of large European cities. The carsharing takes over everyday life, throwing uncertainty over the future of the production and sale of vehicles.

It is a type of electric cars for rent for a limited time, which is invading large cities, such as Madrid. It offers a different mobility alternative to the traditional ‘ carpooling’  or shared car, and it also allows you to rent a vehicle by minutes or even hours.

One of the rental modalities forces the user to withdraw and return the unit on the so-called ‘fixed rental base’, which offers many benefits in the mobility of users in large cities.

The other way , free-floating , allows you to contract the service, use the vehicle and leave it parked in the area demarcated by the company. This option has a reasonable cost compared to the price of a taxi; its minimum rate is 19 cents per minute.

Affordable cost and easy parking

An important future aspect is that the use of this modality strengthens the protection of the environment; among other things, because their units are electric.

The bidding companies have fleets of units that work with electricity, and this allows their traffic through the areas where the use of gas-emitting vehicles is prohibited.

Among other beneficial features of carsharing , the size of its easily parkable units stands out. The coverage for damages caused to third parties by the contractor company is another of its attractions.

However tempting the possibility of its use may seem, it presents advantages and disadvantages that must be weighed. The carsharing is more beneficial for some people than for others.

A professional who is highly mobile is likely to find more advantages than a tourist who wants to stop in many places. It can also be an interesting option to carry out business in the urban center of cities.

The carsharing , good choice for the professional field in a hurry

This is  an interesting mobility choice for managers or professionals who must visit multiple clients in one morning or afternoon. The vehicle can easily be parked almost anywhere due to its size (2.69 meters for the Car2Go and 3.47 for the Citroën C-Zero).

However, the versatility of the unit does not make it immune to being stuck in an hour of traffic jam. The reality is that the parking time will be added to the meter and will be borne by the user.

It should be considered that even when the user who seeks to park a vehicle can move in the area demarcated by the offering company, there are several areas where parking is prohibited.

The promise of a budding business model

Beyond offering a new service for transportation in the city, carsharing raises a new business model. It would be necessary to see how the service will impact on the sector of users interested in acquiring their own vehicles.

One of the aspects to consider is related to the lack of infrastructure for the electric recharging of the units. Supply is not yet developed in all areas.

High costs are an impediment to the purchase of electric vehicles by the traditional consumer, since the salaries of the average population do not allow them to cover them. Another aspect to take into account is that these are small vehicles, where several people cannot get into.

At the moment it seems that the development of this concept will reduce traffic jams and free up parking spaces. Paradoxically, this will help to combat environmental pollution in large cities, thereby improving the quality of life.

The best advantage of carsharing is environmental sustainability

For now, sustainability and environmental protection is the best advantage of the service, but the responsibility in this matter rests, above all, on public organizations. Those most interested in the development of the initiative are usually the municipal authorities of each city.

Day after day it is observed how European government entities support the development of this business. An example is the Law on preferential treatment for ‘ Car-Sharing ‘ recently adopted by the German government.

However, despite their positive impact on transport and the environment, in Spain initiatives like this are viewed with reserve and there is still much to develop.