App-based shared vehicles may pave the way for a shift from private-owned cars and also help reduce carbon footprint, says a policy paper by the International Transport Forum (ITF), an OECD think-tank.
Vehicle sharing gives users what they value in a private car while providing for lower personal and societal costs, says the paper, which comes in the backdrop of the ongoing global climate change meet in Paris.
The ITF policy paper notes that private cars are idle for over 23 hours a day on average and are mostly used during the same time of the day, creating congestion. The occupancy rate during trips is very low, it says.
Noting the recent phenomenon of using private cars to provide “quasi-public transport”, the paper noted that car sharing had been around for decades, but only as a niche phenomenon.