Dear Colleagues,

 

If you go today to http://www.worldcarshare.com you will see the results of a major revision of the World Carshare Consortium program, website and supporting toolset that we have been working very hard on in the past weeks. Best way in is simply to click to the site and then run though the various small boxes and links which appear on the home page. You’ll see.

 

We have long called carsharing an example of a “two percent” solution (a multi-billion dollar new metro is, by contrast, an example of a 5-7 percent solution). All by itself in an unquestioning old mobility vacuum carsharing cannot expect to do all that much -- however when combined with and supported by the rich battery of modes and approaches which are the stuff of the New Mobility Agenda, it has a very important role to complete the multi-level 21^st century new mobility system of your city. As some of you know, we have long called carsharing “the last nail in the coffin of old mobility”.

 

Highlights of the new site and toolset include:

 

1.     An inventory identifying one thousand cities in which you can carshare this morning - see http://www.cities.worldcarshare.com

2.     A comprehensive listing of major sources of supply and service support for carshare start-ups - http://www.suppliers.worldcarshare.com  

3.     An in process inventory identifying more than three hundred of the leading carshare operations worldwide – http://www.operators.worldcarshare.com

4.     A combined search engine which provides focused information on all key aspects of carsharing worldwide - http://www.knoogle.worldcarshare.com

 

This Augean process of updating and extending our coverage of carsharing has been a terrific learning experience. (It is also one in which we have received good help from a significant number of the close to five hundred members of our informal working group, so let me take this occasion to thank them, for all of us.)

 

As but one example, back in 2006 our inventory of cities with carsharing logged in some six hundred, but today just two years later, and if we include the fast-growing campus and specific company/group carshare operations, it can be seen that we have doubled that number. That has to mean something.

 

But now what? Well, the fact is that the technical and business aspects of how to make a carshare project work are now pretty well in hand. That’s a great leap forward, but if you look closely you can see that it makes the next set of targets for our work very clear. And that is that we, and possibly you, need to find ways to get together with cities, local government and other eventual national and regional organizations which can help in this,  to give them more strategic carshare support strategies. This is we are seeing the real weak link thus far. So that is where I intend to concentrate our efforts and attention over 2009 and beyond.

 

I would say that we are far enough along in this process, that I can without hesitation invite you to drop in and have a good look. Carsharing is just one of the rich palette of new mobility options that we now need to put in place and make work. But in this case it has the advantage of one that is at the same time successful, fast growing and well mapped from a world perspective. Carsharing is ready to roll.

 

Tell me what you think.

 

With all good wishes,

 

Eric Britton

 

PS. And don’t miss http://www.lite.worldcarshare.com – carsharing operators selling their service with a grin. May they be an example for us all.

 

 

 

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