摘要: |
Flexcar is a public-private partnership based in Seattle that provides short-term automobile rentals, called 'carsharing.' The program began in 2000 with an agreement between King County (Washington) and Mobility, Inc. It has since expanded to many cities across the United States. This paper is an evaluation of the program in Seattle, focusing on six areas: (1) building a carsharing community, including the technology, processes and users that make up the carsharing system; (2) changing travel behavior, a study on the demographics of Flexcar users and how they have responded to the program; (3) profitability, a summary of Flexcar's finances; (4) government support, a description of the public assistance for carsharing and the expectations placed on Flexcar; (5) environmental impact; and (6) comparison with similar programs, including other carsharing organizations and transportation modes that existed before Flexcar. The results show that Flexcar has developed an integrated system for sharing vehicles, with a high level of automation. Users were less likely to be auto owners and more likely to use transit than the general Seattle population. Better research methods are needed to understand Flexcar's effect on travel behavior. Between January 2002 to mid-2003 Flexcar membership more than doubled and revenues increased by 67%. However, Flexcar was not yet profitable. Government support makes up about 15%of Flexcar's revenues. Flexcar vehicles were 50%more fuel efficient than the average US vehicle. Flexcar's main competition came from travel modes that existed before its creation. / NOTE:Final technical rept. |