Modern car rental regulations for increased car sharing

While many describe the car rental regulations as unnecessarily rigid, there may be reasons to review whether private car sharing between strangers should be regulated so that it is handled by serious platform operators who check driver´s licenses, insurance, ensure that information can be provided to authorities, etc.

The project aims to modernize the car rental regulations together with a wide range of relevant actors to improve accessibility to shared cars even in places where they are completely lacking today. Access to car sharing services reduces the need to own a car and with it the need for parking spaces. This means that valuable land can be freed up and that construction costs can be reduced. At the same time, this needs to happen in a way that guarantees a serious and safe car-sharing market. These issues will be handled in a policy lab and result in recommendations for an updated regulatory framework.

Within the framework of the previous feasibility study (2021-03965), the government has granted an exemption from the car rental regulations for the project partner Skövdebostäder. It will be used in a pilot where the company shares a number of its utility vehicles with renters via a platform operator combined with renters´ vehicles. This means that the project, in parallel with the policy lab, can test new business models and user experience, as well as assess potential, opportunities, risks and challenges with shared utility vehicles.