Carsharing and Station Cars in Asia

Abstract

In recent years, there has been significant worldwide activity in shared-use vehicle systems (i.e., carsharing and station cars). Much of this activity is taking place in Europe and North America; however, there has also been significant activity in Asia, primarily in Japan and Singapore, with some planned activity in Malaysia. The latest shared-use vehicle system activities in Japan and Singapore are examined, beginning with a historical review followed by an evaluation of their current systems. Overall, there are several well-established systems in Japan (18 systems having approximately 176 vehicles and 3,500 members) and Singapore (four systems having approximately 432 vehicles and 12,200 members). A new program was planned to launch in spring 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 10 vehicles. In contrast to most European and North American cities, Japan and Singapore already have a wide range of viable public transportation modes. The primary carsharing focus in Japan is on business use, and in Singapore, on residential–neighborhood use. This likely is because of limited vehicle licensing and high car-ownership costs in Singapore. Further, systems in Japan and Singapore have a high degree of advanced technology in their systems, making the systems easy to use and to manage. The member–vehicle ratios in Asia appear to be approximately the same as in Europe and Canada and less than in the United States. It is expected that Asian shared-use vehicle systems will continue to have steady growth in number of organizations, vehicles, and users.