Survey: car sharing could cut traffic by 25 percent in Bucharest

Georgeta Gheorghe 05/02/2018 | 14:30

Car sharing services could cut traffic in Bucharest and the large cities in Romania by 25 percent, provided that they are included by local authorities in integrated strategies of urban mobility, following the example set by European metropolis, a survey by Perceptum shows.  

According to the survey, a car used via the car sharing service is makes up for the ownership of between four and eight private cars, reducing the need for parking space and maintenance costs with up to 40 percent.

Moreover, an active user of car sharing services produces 290 kilograms of CO2 per year less than a regular car driver by using the car in a more rational way, the study shows.

“A car is stationary for 23 hours per day on average, representing 95 percent of the time. Car sharing services involve the increase of car usage rates by up t 45 percent, maximising the efficiency of each car. It is enough to see how many cars are unused daily, in Bucharest, between certain hours, blocking driving lanes, sidewalks and even streets, and sometimes crossing the green spaces. Car sharing means a more efficient and rational use of cars, which can lead to the significant improvement of urban mobility,” Raluca Ghilea, general director of Perceptum Concept.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, 44 percent of households in Romania that take loans use the money to buy in instalments and via leasing cars and technical and electronic equipment. Between 2011 and 2015, Romania recorded the biggest increase in car registering in the EU, namely 19 percent. However, the rate of motorisation continues to be the lowest in Europe. Car sharing services can replace in a successful way, car ownership in Romania, especially by people who wish to invest their money in other goods, like it already is the case in EU countries.

“Romanians want cars, especially given that only 35.5 percent of the population owns a car. In the EU, car sharing services have proven their usefulness a few years back already, especially in cities such as Milan, Antwerp, Bremen or Zurich, where the municipalities have elaborated urban mobility strategies around these services. Here, just like in other European cities where the services are available, the traffic was cut by between 15 and 35 percent, Bucharest is, already, one of the most congested European capitals, where car sharing could be the solution to decongest traffic,” Ghilea said.

The Perceptum study was made based on 30 car sharing platforms in Germany, Italy, France, the UK and Scandinavia.

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