Carsharing for sustainable urban mobility. Possibilities and obstacles of integrating car sharing into public transport

Resumen o Introducción

This master's thesis aims to examine the key drivers of development in the car sharing industry in order to derive possible effects on sustainable urban mobility. The resulting conclusions provide information about areas in which the various car sharing stakeholders must take action and which processes should be restructured if necessary. In addition, it is examined whether positive or negative effects of car sharing on public transport can already be identified. Based on the research location selected for this study, the possibilities and obstacles with which the concept of car sharing can be integrated into public transport will also be examined.

At the beginning of this paper, the reader is introduced to the basics of the sharing economy, giving them a basic understanding of the further course of the study. In order to delve deeper into the topic, the origin of the sharing economy will be determined, and its relevance in the socio-economic environment demonstrated. The motives of the members of sharing services will be outlined. Since technological progress and electric mobility are the decisive drivers for the change in consumer behaviour, these areas will be discussed. The focus of this master's thesis lies on commercial car sharing, which is therefore covered in more detail than private car sharing. It will be clarified how the sharing mobility has developed in recent years and what motives, under consideration of economic and ecological aspects, have led consumers to use it to an ever-increasing extent. Besides, the advantages and disadvantages from the customer's point of view are worked out in order to examine whether reasons for the enormous market growth can already be deduced from this. Based on the preceding qualitative data collection, conclusions are drawn about the possible effects on urban sustainability, and both opportunities and challenges are elaborated so that approaches for corrective action can be crystallized. With the help of this precise picture of the individual topics, it can be concluded whether car sharing as such contributes to sustainable development in the Federal Republic of Germany and thus generates positive economic and social effects in addition to the positive ecological effects.