Carsharing Demand Estimation

Worldwide carsharing has grown significantly in recent years. The traditional round-trip model is no longer the only carsharing model offered. It is now being accompanied by more flexible options such as one-way station-based, free-floating and peer-to-peer carsharing. Moreover, it has become important to have tools that can estimate both the spatial and temporal demand for carsharing services, providing operators with a good instrument for planning their services. The work presented in this paper makes use of the multiagent simulation tool (MATSIM) to investigate the effects of supply on the demand of the existing round-trip service in the Zurich area of Switzerland. Additionally, the results provide guidance for the possible optimization of the carsharing service. Also presented is an implementation of a one-way station-based model as a part of the MATSIM framework as well as an investigation of the potentials of one-way carsharing service in the study area. Results show that there is still untapped potential of round-trip carsharing, but that service might need optimization. Furthermore, because of greater convenience, one-way carsharing would generate slightly less than three times more trips compared with the round-trip option.