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Understanding the Competitive Advantages of Car Sharing from the Travel-Cost Perspective

Author

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  • Xianlei Dong

    (School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Yongfang Cai

    (School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Jiaming Cheng

    (School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Beibei Hu

    (School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Huijun Sun

    (Key Laboratory of Transport Industry of Big Data Application Technologies for Comprehensive Transport, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China)

Abstract

The emergence and development of car sharing can not only satisfy people’s diverse travel demands, but also can bring a new solution to facilitate urban low-carbon and green development. With the increasing acceptance of car sharing, the market competition between car sharing and traditional taxis is becoming increasingly fierce. Therefore, we explore the advantages of car sharing to travelers compared with taxis. In this paper, we first use the GPS (Global Positioning System) trajectory data of car sharing orders to construct a comparative advantage model based on travel-cost. Then, we take Beijing as the research area to explore the travel-cost advantages of car sharing in terms of the time and space dimensions compared with taxis, through calculating the travel-cost of car sharing and using simulation to calculate that of taxis. The results of the comparison between car sharing and taxis from the perspective of travel-cost are as follows: (1) Compared with short trips, the travel-cost advantage of car sharing is relatively higher in medium and long trips; for travelers, the taxi has a higher travel-cost advantage when the travel time is either very long or very short. (2) On weekdays, it is more cost-effective to travel by shared cars for travelers before the rush hours in the evening, and the travel-cost advantage of using taxis is greater after the evening peak. (3) Compared with weekdays, it is more cost-effective to travel by shared cars on weekends wherever travelers are living in the main urban areas or in the remote suburbs. It is suggested that relevant departments should understand the travelers’ preference and analyze the influence mechanism of other various factors on the market demand for car sharing as per the focus on the market on the travel-cost advantages of car sharing, so as to promote the healthy and sustainable development of urban shared transportation.

Suggested Citation

  • Xianlei Dong & Yongfang Cai & Jiaming Cheng & Beibei Hu & Huijun Sun, 2020. "Understanding the Competitive Advantages of Car Sharing from the Travel-Cost Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-30, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4666-:d:377726
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Xuanxuan Xia & Kexin Lin & Yang Ding & Xianlei Dong & Huijun Sun & Beibei Hu, 2020. "Research on the Coupling Coordination Relationships between Urban Function Mixing Degree and Urbanization Development Level Based on Information Entropy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Hu, Beibei & Sun, Yue & Li, Zixun & Zhang, Yanli & Sun, Huijun & Dong, Xianlei, 2024. "Competitive advantage of car-sharing based on travel costs comparison model: A case study of Beijing, China," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Wu, Song-Man & Wang, Qianqian & Chung, Sai-Ho & Hu, Li & Lau, Yui-yip & Liu, Shi Qiang, 2025. "Improving green urban mobility: A study on shared electric vehicles versus taxis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    4. Yu, JiangBo & Weng, JianCheng & Wang, Tian & Lin, PengFei & Sun, YuXing & Chai, JiaoLong, 2025. "How do differences in airline passengers’ satisfaction with connectivity modes affect last-mile travel choices? A SALC modeling based on RRM," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    5. Beibei Hu & Yue Sun & Huijun Sun & Xianlei Dong, 2020. "A Contrastive Study on Travel Costs of Car-Sharing and Taxis Based on GPS Trajectory Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-28, December.

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