Peer-to-peer carsharing in less-densely populated areas: An empirical analysis in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy)

Mobility plays a crucial role in wellbeing and quality of life. It enables access to services and resources necessary for economic and cultural development and is essential for social inclusion. Peer-to-peer carsharing (P2PCS) represents an effective solution with respect to the sustainability goals indicated by the European New Green Deal and in light of the accessibility objectives of the National Strategy for Internal Areas. For this reason, we estimated the potential supply and demand of P2PCS in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), an Italian region characterized by less-densely populated areas. We interviewed 200 individuals to test if they would rent a car and 249 car owners to test if they would rent out their car. We found that 10% of the sample would use a P2PCS service if the hourly rental rate was €7/h. The main reason preventing the service use is that the FVG residents are not aware of the platforms allowing the matching of car owners and renters. In the paper, we describe also the policies to be implemented to support both the demand and the supply side of the market and we estimate the contribution that P2PCS could make to the decarbonization of the regional transport system.