[sustran] Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?

[Eric Britton]

If I may keep going on this a bit because it is, you have to admit, coming
along very nicely.

 

What are we seeing here? At least two things I would suggest.

 

.         First (and this is very neat), let's never never allow ourselves
to become a prisoner of someone else's language or choice of (loaded?)
terms, by which I mean some largely accepted, perhaps insufficiently
questioned definition of a term. Declare independence and define it for
yourself. 



a.     This is working out very nicely here as we are hearing about lots of
ways to share cars, and some of the reasons why it's not a bad option. Even
for the Global South. The entire conversation becomes much richer and more
useful for policy purposes when we pursue it in this way.



b.    Can someone remind me of our list thus far of what we define as
"carsharing": taxis, shared taxis (by many names), rent a car, rent a
driver, rickshaws, auto rickshaws . . . and have I missed anything.



c.     What they have in common is that there are what one might call
"initiative responses" to the felt need for mobility. DRST - Demand
Responsive Small Transit. No one had to go to MIT to plan them or to the
World Bank to pay for them, but there they are out on the street every day
getting people to where they want to go (most of the time). And they provide
jobs. 



.         And now the second point, which is we are hearing informally why
"carsharing" by whatever flavor is for some a preferred option to own-car
ownership and operation. I am hearing things like, it's cheaper, more
convenient, saves time, avoids the danger/boredom of driving a car in
traffic, no parking problems, more democratic, more social, avoiding elitism
. . .  (Then there is the matter of all that is wrong with them and how to
fix it, but that is for another day.)



a.     It would be great if those of you who have chosen to be "car free"
might share with us a simple list of your reasons, perhaps in the order you
feel them. Then we could look at the lot and perhaps an idea or two would
come out of it.

 

Thank you all so much.