Guide to car sharing, a convenient mobility option
Car sharing services offer self-service vehicle rental. A company, cooperative, municipality or private individual can share cars. Depending on the car sharing company or application, the way the service works can vary. In North America, car sharing is becoming increasingly popular, not least because of its economic and environmental benefits. To find out more about this fast-growing phenomenon, read our complete guide to car sharing!
What is car sharing?
Car sharing is defined as the pooling of one or more vehicles by an operator for the benefit of users who need to rent cars. A private company, an association, a public agency or even a cooperative can set up a network of shared vehicles. A car sharing vehicle is available to drive directly from its parking space. In France, many cities (Paris, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nice, Marseille) are setting up public-private partnerships to develop this mode of transport.
How does car sharing work?
To understand how car sharing works, you need to understand that each company offers a different range of services. The length of the rental period, the need for reservations and the number of authorized trips vary. A company may offer monthly or annual subscriptions.
At Getaround, we offer access to our network free of charge. Generally, car sharing services are accessed via a mobile application (you'll find ours here). In some cases, you can also book a rental car by phone or online, on our website for example.
Getaround Connect® lets you rent a car using your smartphone without having to meet the car owner for a key exchange.
Car sharing service with a station
The majority of car sharing services are based on the use of car sharing stations. A car sharing station is a parking lot, usually located in the city center or in a major district. In the case of a loop car sharing offer, two or more parking spaces are reserved for vehicles belonging to the same fleet.
At the end of your self-service car rental, you'll need to return the car to the same location. If you use electric cars, the car sharing stations may have an electric charging station.
Car sharing services without stations
Station-free car sharing services are less widespread. This type of rental is known as free-floating car sharing. Companies and local authorities offering this type of self-service vehicle rental rely on its great flexibility. The car-sharing vehicle can be parked in any parking space or parking lot in your city.
When you return the rental car, you can park somewhere other than where you picked it up. Although the use of this type of network remains rather limited, in this case you have a defined perimeter for choosing your parking space. A station-free car sharing service allows you to rent a vehicle without a reservation for several days or even weeks at a time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of car sharing?
Car sharing is an alternative mobility system with many advantages. The desire to develop this mode of transport stems mainly from the ecological issues it can address. For individuals who use this type of system, it's mobility and savings that often come first.
The advantages of self-service car rental
The advantages of car sharing primarily concern travel. For someone living in a city center, using the public transport network is not always sufficient or convenient. Having access to a shared vehicle can make it possible to make journeys on less well-served routes. The flexibility of this type of rental (duration, location, distance traveled) makes it just as easy to drive to work as it is to go on vacation or run an errand.
Subscribing to this type of service enables them to maintain the freedom of personal mobility while saving money. The price of these occasional trips is largely offset by the absence of car insurance (except for that included in the rental), monthly payments, maintenance, or annual parking fees. Self-service car rental in North America also has an environmental dimension.
Car sharing considerably reduces the number of cars on the road. Giving up one's personal vehicle encourages more regular use of public transport. Thanks to public-private partnerships, many municipalities are using car sharing to renew their vehicle fleets. They ask companies to give preference to electric or hybrid vehicles when setting up their shared fleet.
The disadvantages of self-service car rental
Despite their many advantages, car sharing services also have a few drawbacks. Firstly, the level of development of the shared car network varies greatly from city to city. Vehicle availability is not the same everywhere, particularly in the case of loop car sharing.
Renting an electric car is good for the environment. However, you need to have access to charging stations, and to check that the range of these vehicles is well-suited to the planned journey. Car sharing almost systematically reduces the number of personal vehicles on the road and the distance driven.
Anecdotally, while a car sharing network is very practical, it can also have the opposite effect on some users. This is the case, for example, with direct car sharing in large cities. Some subscribers choose car sharing for journeys that are better served by public transport.
Is there a car sharing service for private individuals?
Car sharing between private individuals is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to operators such as Getaround. If you never use your own car, you can offer it for car sharing 24 hours a day.
If your car is available on a regular basis, you can request an appointment to hand over the keys at the time of rental. The development of car sharing between private individuals has led some people to associate it with carpooling.
In both cases, the main aim is to reduce the number of cars on the road. The difference between car sharing and carpooling is simple. When you carpool, you pay a driver to take part in your journey. With private car sharing, you rent a car without a driver.
Who uses car sharing?
The majority of car sharing users are city dwellers who don’t own or don’t often use their personal vehicles. This is particularly true of employees who can get to work by public transport. Some subscribers to this type of service use car sharing to avoid a public transport network considered less pleasant, less efficient, or less reliable than a journey by car.
When it comes to car sharing between private individuals, the users are the same as for a classic car rental service. Some subscribers also use self-service car rental as a leisure activity. In this case, they even turn to luxury car sharing!
Would you like to try out a car sharing rental service in North America or Europe? Discover Getaround's car sharing offer in your city!
