Features
27 Aug 19

Here are Europe's Top-5 car-sharing boomtowns

Turin, Krakow, Istanbul, Zagreb and Lyon (pictured): those five European cities will be the hotspots of the coming shared-mobility boom. In a whitepaper, Vulog explains why. 

Using its own global experience as a provider of shared-mobility technology, France-based company Vulog has identified five European cities to watch when it comes to car-sharing. 

Necessary ingredients

Why these five? First off, because they possess the necessary ingredients:

  • a large population;
  • high population density;
  • high levels of private car ownership; and
  • a cooperative city administration.

The last factor is the catalyst: by offering free parking or access to bus lanes to shared cars, city administrations can be the factor that turns pilot projects into successful ventures. 

Short overview

Here’s a short overview of those factors in each of the five shared-mobility ‘boomtowns’ identified by Vulog:

Turin (Italy)

  • High population density (nearly 7,000/km2)
  • High level of car ownership (674‰)
  • City-sponsored foundation promotes sustainable development (Turin Smart City)

Krakow (Poland)

  • Large population (around 800,000)
  • Large segment is young and dynamic (43.5% is 15-44 years old)
  • More than 10 million tourists per year

Istanbul (Turkey)

  • Huge population (15 million, 6 million of which are 15-44 years old)
  • Second-most congested city in the world
  • More than 22 million vehicles in the city

Zagreb (Croatia)

  • One of the region’s highest population densities (4,316/km2)
  • Member of CIVITAS, which promotes active investment in clean, efficient transport
  • City grants free parking to car-sharing operators

Lyon (France)

  • Large population (2.2 million) and high density (10,739 km/2)
  • 600 new EV charging stations by 2020
  • Second-largest public transport network in France
  • City is familiar with shared services

Crucial factor

The crucial factor, according to the Vulog whitepaper: population density. Car-sharing success is easier to achieve in places packed with people. It’s much likelier that a shared car at the end of a trip will find another user to begin its next journey in such a place.  

Also important: high levels of car ownership. This indicates cars will remain the preferred mode of transport, also in a sharing ecosystem. Every shared car replaces 10 to 14 non-shared vehicles. Car-sharing thus significantly helps to reduce congestion, pollution and parking problems. 

Electric tendency

A further characteristic of car-sharing is the method’s tendency towards electric mobility: with a little help from city administrations (in terms of parking and recharging spaces), EVs can be the quickest, easiest way around town. 

Vulog is a leader in shared-mobility software. Its technology underpins 25 car-sharing services on five continents, including VW’s WeShare, Kia’s WiBLE and PSA’s Free2Move.
 

Authored by: Frank Jacobs
MaaS
Europe