Carsharing use by college students: The case of Milan and Rome

The paper analyses carsharing (CS) use by college students in the Italian cities of Rome and Milan. We use an adapted stated preference approach to study CS preferences by collecting information on the individual mobility patterns and by distinguishing between commuting and non-commuting trips. We develop six hypothetical scenarios to explore how mobility decision would change when varying the characteristics of the current CS supply. We estimate a random parameter discrete choice model to evaluate CS preferences and simulated CS demand. The main finding is that college students use CS on an occasional basis and vary rarely their habitual transport choice. The students prefer the free-floating CS type over the station-based or roundtrip one. Lower fares and a higher CS supply of preferably electric cars would increase the number of CS student users from the current 2% to up to 10-15%. CS substitutes mainly the private car and, to a lesser extent, public transport.