Where is 2+ car sharing headed?
A review of the journey sharing sector and opportunities for future development
Interim report of the conclusions of the Carplus Ride Share Working Group by Carplus, April 2013
Abbreviations
The abbreviations used in this document are as follows:
RSWG Ride Share Working Group NGO Non-Government Organisation
DfT Department for Transport AGM Annual General Meeting
TfL Transport for London HOV High Occupancy Vehicle
DVLA Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency SOV Single Occupancy Vehicle
ITP Integrated Transport Planning
Terminology
For the purpose of this report, the term ‘journey sharing’ has been used to refer to ‘2+ car sharing’ (or lift sharing / ride sharing) i.e. where 2+ people share a journey together in one vehicle.
Terminology is discussed as a specific issue in more detail later in this report.
Contents
Section Page
Abbreviations 2
Terminology 2
Acknowledgements 2
1. Introduction 5
2. About Carplus and the Ride Share Working Group 6
3. The Purpose of this Report 8
4. Executive Summary 9
5. Findings 11
6. Draft Proposals 27
7. Appendices 28
Appendix 1 – Ride Share Working Group Terms of Reference 28
Appendix 2 – Methodology 30
Appendix 3 – Submissions pro forma 31
Appendix 4 – Online stakeholder survey – area-based schemes 34
Appendix 5 – Online stakeholder survey – corporate schemes 34
Appendix 6 – Online stakeholder survey – festival schemes 34
8. References 35
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1. Introduction
1.1 With travel costs continuing to rise faster than inflation and recent claims that air pollution now kills as many people in Britain each year as obesity and road traffic collisions combined, it is more relevant than ever to find ways to reduce use of the private car. As the ‘sharing economy’ gains momentum and people become more open to the concept of collaborative consumption, journey sharing is one solution that is about to come into its own.
1.2 Journey sharing, more usually referred to as car sharing in the UK, has been around since cars were invented. However, its profile as a mobility solution has remained noticeably lower than that of other modes. The lack of an industry voice, the absence of any established best practice standards, low levels of public awareness and concerns about personal safety and security have been quoted as some of the possible reasons for this.
1.3 Carplus, in partnership with ACT Travelwise, Ways2Work and journey sharing service providers from the Carplus membership, have been working together to review the current situation and consider how the barriers to the expansion of journey sharing can be overcome.
2. About Carplus and the Ride Share Working
Group
2.1. Carplus is a not-for-profit, environmental transport NGO and charity that promotes “rethinking car use”. Founded in 2000, Carplus is actively involved in advocacy, supporting the development of car clubs and journey sharing schemes in the UK.
2.2. Carplus delivers programmes on car club development for Transport for London and Transport Scotland, provides consultancy services for several English transport authorities, and runs events for members and other stakeholders. From time to time Carplus manages research and development projects funded by trusts and foundations.
2.3. In promoting the development of car clubs Carplus provides support to community groups, transport authorities, transport professionals and others working to improve the way we travel. As part of this work, Carplus provides a national car club accreditation scheme of car club service providers. It also produces the Carplus Annual Survey, the only report of its kind in the UK to provide independent data and analysis on the operation, membership of car clubs and their beneficial impact on travel choices and the environment. The Annual Survey has been produced since 2008 and is widely used amongst key decision makers and academics when developing sustainable travel policies and conducting research.
2.4. Carplus also provides information on the journey sharing sector and signposting of enquirers to service providers. This project is part of an initiative to establish a stronger voice for the benefits of journey sharing / “2+ car sharing”.
The Ride Share Working Group
2.5. As part of an initiative to strengthen our work on journey sharing, Carplus has taken the lead in the establishment of the Ride Share Working Group (RSWG) set up to review current operational standards and practices within the sector with a view to making a series of recommendations on the future development of journey sharing.
2.6. The group initially formed in response to calls for from transport authorities, service providers and other stakeholders in the UK journey sharing sector for the establishment of some form of regulation and ‘standard setting’ for the sector, especially in respect of:
· data collection, monitoring and reporting
· operational practices of service providers
· privacy and security of client and end user data
· safeguards for end users
2.7. The aims within the Terms of Reference for the RSWG were established around these key aspects and a copy of the full terms is included within the appendices of this report (see Appendix 1).
2.8. This report is the first key output of the working group. It presents the findings of the first stage of the sector review followed by a set of initial proposals for public consultation.
2.9. The Ride Share Working Group consists of representation from ACT Travelwise, Ways2Work, Carplus Board members and journey sharing service providers from the Carplus membership.
Carplus is a registered charity, no. 1093980.
3. The Purpose of this Report
The purpose of this interim report is to:
a) present the findings of the first stage of a review of the current position within the journey sharing sector, as reported by stakeholders and researchers, with particular reference to the operational standards and practices of schemes and their service providers.
b) present a series of initial proposals for the future development and expansion of the journey sharing sector that take into account the opportunities presented by advances in technology, planning and infrastructure, and the influence of the rapidly growing ‘Sharing Economy’.
c) invite stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue about these findings and proposals and to provide views and comments on the future direction of the journey sharing sector.
3.1. The stakeholder consultation process for this report will take place during April 2013, culminating in an open consultation event in London on 25th April 2013. The feedback collated from the consultation will inform the drafting of the final report and proposals that will be used to lobby key decision makers and drivers within the journey sharing sector.
3.2. The Ride Share Working Group hopes that, if the final proposals are adopted, they will help raise the profile of journey sharing within the sustainable transport policy arena. This will help bring a level of increased credibility and support currently enjoyed by other modes, such as cycling. At the same time, and perhaps most importantly, they hope that they will also increase public interest in journey sharing as a realistic, safe and desirable mode of travel.
Stakeholders are invited to present their views and comments on this report at an open consultation event on Thursday 25th April 2013 at Google Campus, London. Visit www.carplus.org.uk for further details and to book.
Alternatively, written comments can be sent to Justine Hart, Strategy and Research Manager, Carplus
8
‘Where is 2+ car sharing headed?’ – a review of the journey sharing sector and opportunities
for future development Interim report, Carplus – March 2013
4. Executive Summary
4.1. This report favours the establishment of an independent standards body for the journey sharing sector. Such a body could enhance the potential market for journey sharing by creating greater confidence in the sector and its ability to deliver value for money. It could also provide a stronger platform to promote the benefits of “2+ car sharing”.
4.2. A standards body could adopt a form of accreditation for service providers, recognised by commissioning bodies. Secondly it could provide a framework through which stakeholders and service providers set common standards to ensure that data collected is interpreted in a consistent way and leads to effective monitoring.
4.3. We propose that a new body should establish a recognized 2+ brand that can be adopted in signage and in marketing communications. It should campaign for better, more visible incentives in parking and road space allocation for journey sharers. Other recommendations will cover promoting innovation and ensuring best practice in user safeguards.
4.4. We believe that through establishing an agreed platform, the sector will be better placed to secure a growth in support for journey sharing activities and policies. As the effects of the recession and rising energy costs impact on the cost of commuting and discretionary travel, this sector can make a greater contribution to mobility.
4.5. The report - the results of consultations and research by the Ride Share Working Group - will initially be reviewed by a meeting of “car share” (journey sharing) service providers and commissioning bodies on 25th April 2013 at Google Campus, London. It will consider the potential obstacles to setting up an industry body to promote the benefits of wider adoption of 2+ incentives. Visit the Carplus web site for more information and to book to attend this event www.carplus.org.uk/news-and-events/events-programme/
4.6. Stakeholders can also submit written comments and views about the report and its proposals by e-mailing them to Justine Hart, Strategy and Research Manager at
4.7. Stakeholders are also invited to take part in a second round of online surveys which can be accessed via the Carplus web site www.carplus.org.uk/our-work/ride-share-working-group-2/
4.8. The deadline for written comments and to complete the survey is 6th May 2013. All feedback received will be collated and taken forward to inform a final version of this report scheduled for publication in Summer 2013.
4.9. The Ride Share Working Group, which includes Carplus board members, service providers and representatives of ACT Travelwise and Ways2Work, was established by sustainable transport NGO Carplus after its AGM in October 2012.
5. Findings
5.1. What is clear when comparing the findings from previously published studies about journey sharing with the data and intelligence gathered for this report is that whilst the specifics vary, there is widespread agreement about the broad areas for sector development amongst commissioning bodies, service providers and end users alike.
5.2. These areas for development are:
· Data collection, monitoring and reporting
· The operational practices of service providers, which includes
- Privacy and security of client and end user data
- Safeguards for end users
- Inter-operability of journey sharing schemes
· Raising the profile of journey sharing and the 2+ agenda, including the use of universal terminology and branding
· Planning and infrastructure opportunities
The findings of this report are presented under these areas.
Data collection, monitoring and reporting
5.3. Monitoring journey sharing schemes is essential to establish whether targets are being met and value for money is being achieved in order to maintain funding streams and high-level support. It is also important to scheme management, for example, evaluating the success of marketing and promotion initiatives or assessing the provision of existing supporting infrastructure and providing evidence for the introduction of further measures. Not least it allows scheme administrators to ascertain which registered users are still actively sharing or looking to share and which have stopped, been unable to find a share or have left the scheme.
5.4. The findings of this report and previously published studies indicate that there are concerns about the reliability of some monitoring practices and the reported results because of the nature of the data available and used for analysis. The most notable concern raised is that the impact and success of journey sharing schemes is largely measured using membership numbers (which can include inactive as well as active members), the number of viable matches returned and the number of ‘contacts’ made between sharers.
5.5. A principal reason why these measurements may be used as benchmarks is that they are often the only data readily available from service providers for analysis. This would not be a problem if these benchmarks were the ones that everyone in the sector agreed defined a successful scheme per se. However, this does not appear to be the case. Emissions reductions, financial cost savings, reduced congestion and decreases in private annual mileage are viewed as fundamental evidence by many, including the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL).
5.6. Whilst the findings of this report suggest that the sector would not necessarily disagree with this, the issue arises where the ‘evidence’ of these impacts is calculated and reported using membership numbers, matches and contacts made. The argument is that it is not possible to substantiate these impacts using these benchmarks as they do not provide the baseline data required – i.e. the actual number of shared journeys that have taken place, and so the actual number of journeys saved. Instead, where these benchmarks are used in this way, the resulting reported figures sometimes give an overestimated account of the impact of journey sharing. This has a negative effect on the credibility of journey sharing as a sustainable mode of travel.
5.7. However, methods of recording more accurate, actual journey data are perceived to be problematic, especially those that would require users to self-report shared journeys completed as these are deemed unreliable. The type of scheme also dictates how easily data can be collected – more controlled measurement is possible in a closed, corporate scheme, for example, but in open, area-based schemes, it would be extremely difficult.
5.8. If it was not possible to establish a reliable and accurate method of collecting actual trip data, a validated, uniform sampling approach may need to be considered that would ascertain assumed levels of journey sharing for analysis. Furthermore, for this approach to be widely accepted by the sector and others scrutinising it, validation by an independent third party would be required. This is not dissimilar to the approach used to undertake the Carplus annual survey of car club members.
5.9. There are significant levels of informal journey sharing taking place that are presently not captured through any data collection process. It is widely believed that informal journey sharing arrangements are buoyant and account for the bulk of journeys shared over journeys undertaken by sharers registered on formal schemes. If this data could be collected, the sector believes that it would provide a stronger evidence base to decision makers and funders of the true level of journey sharing and its contribution to reducing single occupancy vehicles (SOVs). This could then potentially lead onto more support for the provision of funding and infrastructure to facilitate greater uptake of journey sharing.