New steps to promote car sharing in smaller cities

Car sharing contributes to increased sustainability, not only ecologically but also socially and economically. In urban regions around Europe, car sharing is becoming more common. There are often several providers of such services in the same city, but many smaller cities completely lack the option.

Therefore, SESMA (Sharing economy and acceptance for smart mobility) aims to increase acceptance of smart mobility solutions, such as car sharing, with a focus on smaller cities. By doing so, an inevitable step is taken in order to include more parts of our society and reach beyond the urban setting.

“A focus in SESMA is on the fact that not a lot of studies have been done on mobility habits and the opportunities for car sharing in cities the size of Trollhättan”, says Malin Pongolini from University West, research student in the project.

“The focus is usually on larger cities, such as Stockholm or Gothenburg, where the conditions look completely different.”

The SESMA project is run in by University West, the City of Trollhättan, NEVS, RISE and Eidar Trollhättans Bostadsbolag and in the pilot study about ten people from different households in Granngården will be part of a car pool. Together, they will share two electric cars parked in the residential area for just over a month.

“The purpose is to look at what the participants need the car for and what their transport habits look like”, Malin Pongolini explains.

“We also want to see how people experience letting go of what they own and dare to share a car with others who live in the same area”.

The importance of the users’ acceptance of new technology and services is key for the development of sustainable, future mobility that is accessible for all. Other examples of how the users’ perspective is being investigated within Drive Sweden can be seen in AHA and AHA II and in our thematic area Public Engagement.

Read more here (Swedish)

Read more about SESMA here