On the potential for one-way electric vehicle car-sharing in future mobility systems

City transport systems often struggle to cope with high volumes of traffic and become congested, despite the use of various traffic management strategies. The concentration of traffic around city centres results in pollution and poor urban air quality, although the increasing popularity of electric vehicles is helping ameliorate these effects. One reason for the growing momentum behind electric vehicles is the emergence of mobility operators such as car-sharing companies, who target users wishing to rent out vehicles on a short-term basis. There is currently rapid growth in one-way car-sharing, in which the vehicle can be dropped off at a different location to the pickup point. Crucially, one-way car-sharing gives the opportunity for travellers to utilise car sharing in conjunction with other modes, such as public transport modes, for their journey provided the requisite intermodal connections are present. This paper looks at how one-way electric vehicle car-sharing systems have the potential to become important components of future city transport systems. The future role of shared autonomous vehicles is also considered.