Optimizing the Vehicle Selection Decision in Carsharing Systems

Balancing mobility is now a very important part of urban development. The need for change in residents' attitudes toward private vehicle ownership mean that carsharing can play an important role in the functioning of urban areas. Carsharing systems provide a number of benefits, both collective and individual. First and foremost, they free up space. Just one car-sharing vehicle can replace the ownership of 8 to as many as 19 cars in private use, thereby "freeing up" 80-190 sqm of space each time. In addition, sharing vehicles in lieu of owning them has a positive impact on the environment, reducing noise and exhaust emissions. Studies show that the demand for carsharing services will increase if the fleet of "cars for minutes" consists of electric cars. Hence, in this paper, taking advantage of the research gap related to the procedure for the proper selection of vehicles for carsharing, the use of vehicles with different types of propulsion including electric, was evaluated from the economic, technical and environmental perspectives. The selection of vehicles has been classified as a multi-faceted, complex problem, so this study used one of Maja multi-criteria decision support methods. Five vehicles of the same model and make, each with a different type of propulsion system, belonging to the C market segment, the most popular in carsharing systems in Poland, were considered. The results indicate that under current conditions, an electric car is not the optimal solution. Only when environmental issues have been taken into account does an electric vehicle represent the best solution. The proposed method and the obtained results can be used by, among others, carsharing operators to organize or modernize their vehicle fleets.