Carsharing is caring

Your own car means personal freedom. Or does it? Being stuck behind the wheel, inching forward at a snail’s pace during rush hour in a big city is fuel for frustration. There are simply too many cars congesting city roads. But a solution may lie in digital tools and emissions-free propulsion.

Today, individuals and businesses alike are not only looking for the fastest and cheapest way to get from A to B – they also want transportation to be as eco-friendly as possible. This attitude is finding support, e.g. from government agencies. In Germany, for example, there are now 60 designated environmental zones (Umweltzonen) in downtown areas, where cars must have a window sticker proving they meet specific emissions standards. What’s more, the European Commission is pushing for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

Taming transport – via smartphone

Apps and carsharing models (also called car clubs and peep-to-peer car rental) have long transformed personal and freight transportation. In Germany, for example, a pair of apps from Deutsche Bahn helps travelers to find alternatives to personally owned cars: DB Navigator determines the best train connection, while DB Flinkster directs users to vehicles available for short-term rental. Even in a nation so closely associated with automobiles, carsharing models are taking off. In 2018, 2.46 million people were using them – approximately 350,000 more than in the previous year, reports industry association Bundesverband Carsharing*. There are now carsharing options at 740 sites across Germany, with a fleet of over 20,000 vehicles.

Major carmakers are also becoming involved. From BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen to Volvo and General Motors, nearly all global players are launching innovative new road transport options for major cities and beyond. This forward-looking approach is enabled by technologies from diverse IT businesses.

Uber, Moia, Car2go, DriveNow, BerlKönig, Waymo and Cruise – the names of carsharing and related services may sound a tad futuristic, but their business models are real-and-running – and varied. Some provide an offering cheaper than conventional taxis; some save users money through carpooling; and others still provide a convenient way to travel from front doors to the nearest public transportation connections. What all these solutions have in common is the way they are made available – via smartphone apps.

Electric is gaining traction

Increasingly, electric motors are powering carsharing vehicles around town. Nearly all providers have electric vehicles in their fleets – some use them exclusively. Start-up Share2Drive, for instance, is tapping into this trend, and is itself building electric cars designed specifically and exclusively for carsharing scenarios.

The German Institute of Urban Affairs (Deutschen Institut für Urbanistik*) in Berlin foresees a mixture of transport modes becoming established in the long term. And there is not only a transformation in personal transport – the movement of goods is also changing, with a growing number of logistics enterprises embracing electric solutions. In Bonn, for example, the German postal service (Deutsche Post) is deploying its Streetscooter* on inner-city streets as part of a wide-ranging pilot project. By late 2016, DHL had electric vans making their rounds in Cologne, Stuttgart and Hamburg. And courier service DPD is going a step further: by summer 2019, it will be making all its deliveries in downtown Hamburg by means of electric vehicles.

*German only