[sustran] Re: Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?

[Rutul Joshi]

In Indian context, one sees wider range of informal practices of vehicle sharing which often do not get recorded. One of the most intersting one is the auto-rickshaw sharing which I have closely seen in Ahmedabad and in smaller towns of the Gujarat state. 

Most of the auto-rickshaw drivers have mobile phones and I know many 
families who call them often. Nothing is formalised here and the 
Auto-driver belonging to the neighbourhood or known through someone is 
more reliable and assumed to be a safer choice, especially for the 
women. The working women almost regularly call auto-rickshaws to drop 
them/to pick them up in groups. The cost are shared and thus, it becomes affordable for a regular practice. In fact, it gives tough competition 
to public transport in smaller cities. I also know some friends who use 
these auto-rickshaws on call (instead of taxis) to access the airport 
and the railway stations. The Autos would be cheaper and as efficient 
option. It becomes even more affordable and useful in smaller Indian 
cities which lacks good public transport. The mobile phones have made 
the auto-drivers more enterprising. Informal social networks take care 
of safety and other issues. 

I believe, the debates about 'car sharing' should be broadly defined as 
'mode sharing' or 'vehicle sharing'. There are lot of interesting 
informal practices which needs to be researched. 

cheers,
Rutul.





 Rutul Joshi,
Lecturer, Faculty of Planning and 
Public Policy (on study leave)
CEPT University, Ahmedabad - 380 009.
www.spcept.ac.in
 




________________________________
From: Madhav Pai <MPai at wri.org>
To: Eric Britton <eric.britton at ecoplan.org>; Sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Sent: Thu, 25 March, 2010 10:27:48 AM
Subject: [sustran] Re: Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?

A form of car sharing in India very prevalent. 

In most cities you can rent a car/with a driver (half day:4 hours), full
day: 8-12 hours, few days even a few months). The cars are available in
all sizes small sedans to mini vans. The rates are pretty much fixed
across the country. It usually starts at 4 Hours, 40 Kms is 400 Rs (10
USD) for a low small sedan. 

Car ownership may vary between from one car (owner/driver) to a few
thousand cars. 
There is also an increasing number of fleet managers. That take these
cars from individual owners/drivers, use technology elements (GPS
tracking), call center etc and make them available to offices/companies.


Would you call this car sharing?

It would be interesting to study if the availability of these cars
- prevent people from buying cars
- do they end up buying smaller cars for city use and renting these
bigger cars for long trips
- what percentage of car use in our cities are these shared cars?
- if one these large companies could transform themselves into
membership based car sharing entities.


Sincerely;
Madhav Pai
Technical Director
EMBARQ - India


-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+mpai=wri.org at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+mpai=wri.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
Of Eric Britton
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 2:05 PM
To: Sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?

Is carsharing irrelevant for the Global South?  

Should be transportation planners and policymakers working in cities the
developing world be taking the time to follow developments in other
places so that they are fully informed about planning and policy matters
as necessary for ensuring successful carsharing in their cities and
countries.

We think they should. We (I guess that means me, but not really since I
know I am not alone in this)  firmly believe that carsharing is a
practical transportation alternative that is relevant for  just about
every place in the world where there are people who need to have access
to cars (and vans and trucks). It is not only a proven low carbon way to
have access to and use cars, but it makes economic sense for most
people, and (when it works
properly) is a lot more convenient to boot.

So please keep up on carshare developments world wide and bear it in
mind that carsharing is "the last nail in the coffin of old mobility".

Eric Britton 

For the World Carshare Consortium at  <http://www.worldcarshare.com>
www.worldcarshare.com 



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