Did you know that there are 487 cars per 1000 people on average in England and Wales? That’s a lot of cars for a small island… The issue is similar across Europe, with private car ownership remaining a major obstacle for meeting environmental targets and overcrowded streets.
So how do we reduce the number of cars, and the associated congestion and pollution issues, without compromising people’s ability to get around? After all, public transport isn’t always an option and many businesses are reliant on vehicles.
Currently, most private vehicles are only used 5% of the time, meaning that for the other 95% they are sat stationary in a car park. With new technology we can turn those statistics around using one of the oldest and wisest societal concepts: sharing.
For the public, easy-to-use smartphone apps can let drivers know where available vehicles are. For a business, which could have thousands of fleet vehicles, the solution is a little bit smarter. Hitachi is using AI technology to increase the efficiency of car sharing for fleets, targeting a 25% saving in rental costs by reducing the number of unused vehicles.
Car sharing can make a massive difference. Research has found it can remove between nine to 13 cars for each car sharing vehicle. Roll that out across whole cities, and the impact could be huge.
Take a look at this video explaining how car sharing works. Please also keep up the sharing spirit and post on your social channels!
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