Factors affecting the development of electric vehiclebased car-sharing schemes Richard Mounce and John Nelson Centre for Transport Research, University of Aberdeen, UK E-mail: r.mounce@abdn.ac.uk ; j.d.nelson@abdn.ac.uk UTSG Conference, Jan 2017 1
Overview 1) Traffic in cities and mobility trends 2) Electric vehicles 3) Car-sharing 4) ESPRIT vehicle, project and system 2
Traffic in cities 3
Traffic management in cities 1) Car-free zones. Car-free cities (e.g. Venice), pedestrianisation, car-free neighbourhoods, carfree days. 2) Congestion charging. Form of road-pricing which can be flat rate or variable. Can contribute towards lowering congestion and provide revenue for public transport improvements. 3) Traffic signal control. Effective tool in managing traffic to achieve objectives such as minimising delays, maximising network capacity and managing queues. Important though to account for impacts on travellers route choices. 4) Low Emission Zones. Polluting vehicles are excluded in order to improve air quality in the zone. Types include LEZ, ULEZ, ZEZ. EU Air quality directives (2005 and 2010). 5) Improvements to public transport and walking/cycling infrastructure. Improvements to public transport can result in a modal shift away from private car use and reduce traffic in the city centre. As well as cost and accessibility, service reliability and intermodal connections are key 4
Trends in mobility 1) Decline/ levelling off of car ownership in developed countries 2) Electrification of the motor car industry 3) Autonomous vehicles 4) Mobility as a Service (MaaS) 5) Car-sharing 6) Lift-sharing 5
Key factors relating to the success of electric vehicles (Dijk et al, 2013) 1) Investment in infrastructure 2) Developments in mobility 3) Developments in global car manufacturing industry 4) Energy sector and climate policies 6
Car-pooling vs car-sharing Car-pooling Fill the cars Car-sharing Increase the use rate of cars Transported passengers 10M 3M 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Efficient for long distance trips. Not so suitable for short commutes to work Efficient for short distance trips. A potential solution for short commutes to work, or as part of a multi-modal commute 7
Types of car-sharing 1) Return 2) One-way 3) Free-floating 4) Peer to peer 8
One way car sharing : the service meeting the demand One way car sharing Conventional car sharing 9
One-way car-sharing: some unsolved problems The distribution can become unbalanced over time, i.e. vehicles end up in locations where they are not needed and there is a lack of vehicles where they are needed Redistribution by the operator is costly More stations are needed, which is more costly 10
Easily distributed Personal RapId Transit ESPRIT vehicle is lightweight and trackless It is stackable with mechanical coupling It is compact: it takes up a quarter of the space of a conventional car It can be driven in road trains An entire road train may be charged off one charging facility 11
ESPRIT: easy redistribution Redistribution is made easier because the vehicles can be driven in a road train An operator can drive a road train of up to 8 vehicles Users may drive a road train of 2 vehicles 12
Kanban type redistribution OPERATION redistribution Back office station A system oriented to the user: direct and fast to the destination, available (no need to wait) => high quality service Redistribution workforce needs are aligned with the demand (especially during off-peak hour period) => cheaper to operate 13
ESPRIT in city centres and suburban areas ESPRIT in city centres will be able to greatly improve the efficiency of existing one-way carsharing services, correcting the continual imbalance of distribution with roadtrains to keep an optimum supply in all areas. With a reliable and affordable service ESPRIT is expected to double the present average of vehicle uses per day to over 10, making them viable without the promotional compensation relied upon by the present OEM operators. ESPRIT will be able to encourage downtown congestion-free zones, by offering a vehicle to all, when required. ESPRIT services in suburban areas will be able to complement and extend bus services, taking people to local PT hubs, railway and metro stations. ESPRIT can adapt to demand. To maintain the supply of cars extra staff are only needed during rush hours, unlike micro-bus shuttle services that need to run empty sometimes to keep the service open. Like the bus services suburban ESPRIT services are also expected to receive subsidies. 14
Technical challenges Vehicular side : Solve technical challenges Drive, brake and steer without : - Sway risks / oscillation risks - Jackknifing risks Guide and couple the vehicles Charging / Balancing strategy of the energy storage Development of the physical architecture, chassis, body Weight challenge Homologation challenges (2 vehicles in one homologation, road train) 15
Objectives of the ESPRIT Project Vehicular side : Define and develop the functionalities up to TRL5 Secure the functional safety Develop the ESPRIT System, 3 complete vehicles + 3 chassis Reach the weight objective Secure their ability to be homologated Operational and Mobility side : Estimate if the system is socially and economically relevant on 3 use cases (L Hospitalet, Lyon, Glasgow) : - Estimate the economic sustainability - Social benefits / drawbacks, induced modal share for public transport. Demonstration events at the three sites Estimate the potential market 16
ESPRIT: Anticipated benefits ESPRIT addresses the challenges of sustainable transportation with innovation in carsharing distribution and management Cleaner, less congested cities through the development of efficient, eco-friendly and desirable public cars for their citizens KEY BENEFITS: Modal shift away from conventional private car Better integration with public transport Reduced pressure on parking mock-up of ESPRIT cars June 2016 Better urban air quality 17
Conclusions High volumes of traffic in cities can cause problems such as congestion and pollution. The use of electric vehicles can contribute towards better air quality in urban areas. The emergence of car-sharing operators is giving momentum to the further development of electric vehicles. One-way car-sharing is growing rapidly, but vehicle redistribution can be a problem. The facility for vehicles to be stacked together and driven in road trains facilitates much easier redistribution, making it a key feature of one-way car-sharing systems. One-way car-sharing has the potential to deliver a number of benefits including improving urban air quality; reducing pressure on parking; and promoting intermodal transport solutions. 18
The ESPRIT Project ESPRIT website: http://www.esprit-transport-system.eu/ The ESPRIT project has received funding from the European Union s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 653395.