Carsharing Services in Italy: Trends and Innovations

Transport is a critical factor for social-economic development, however, its environmental footprint cannot be neglected and is increasing over time. New mobility services based on collaborative consumption, such as peer-to-peer carsharing, have been developed with the aim of improving accessibility and reducing the negative externalities produced by transport. However, in the literature, there are very few documents that analyze collaborative consumption in the transport sector. To shed light on this topic, we described the Italian carsharing market and explained how it has changed over time. Moreover, we studied the potentialities of peer-to-peer carsharing in a less densely populated Italian region on the basis of a survey we conducted through face-to-face interviews. We found that the main reason preventing its spread is that individuals are not yet aware of its existence. We also analyzed the motivations of those who would like to use it and of those who stated the opposite. Suggestions are presented on the strategies to be implemented to facilitate the adoption of the service for the benefit of both platform providers and local administrators.