While there are several commercial applications for sharing cars, free-floating carsharing systems offer the ultimate flexibility and freedom. That’s because this model allows members to drop off a shared car anywhere. It’s the number-one car sharing feature that convinces people to give it a try, even if they are strong believers in car ownership. Once they start using a car sharing system, people immediately appreciate the flexibility compared to owning a car. And, they recognize that they can get around town at a fraction of the cost of driving their own car.
“However, the freedom that members enjoy represents the biggest challenge for operators.”
However, the freedom that members enjoy represents the biggest challenge for operators. While operator’s focus is on maximum utilization of their assets, things don’t always work as they should. For instance, cars are often parked in neighborhoods where they sit idle for hours or even days. And, then there are popular areas where cars are routinely unavailable. This can happen no matter how many cars are dropped off.
Ultimately, the goal of operators is to balance supply and demand. Ideally, this is done by placing cars in locations that are optimum for both operators and members. This white paper explores the biggest challenges faced by operators around the issue of relocation before offering solutions that members would like to see according to interviews of industry experts and a survey conducted jointly by movmi and Ecoservice.
Developled by: Chase Theory
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