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Correlation between optimal carsharing locations and carbon dioxide emissions in urban areas
Lee, J.B.; Byun, W.; Lee, S.H. & Do, M.
Abstract
Carsharing, an alternative to car ownership, is
being encouraged by many national governments as a
means to alleviate air pollution and traffic congestion.
Previously, many carsharing companies determined service
locations through trial and error, but they currently define
their parking locations in metropolitan cities for maximum
customer coverage. However, identifying carsharing locations
according to the experiences of the pioneering cities
might not yield valid results in some Asian countries where
carsharing systems are unknown. Hence, this study examines
the characteristics of carsharing users in Daejeon, a
small Korean city, to determine that city’s optimal carsharing
service locations. A geographic information system
was used to analyze and determine the best spatial areas
according to two data categories: internal and external
demand factors. Suitable carsharing locations were ranked
by the results of a grid analysis. Thirty optimal locations
were then determined from the location-allocation model
in a network analysis module. Determining optimal
carsharing locations should also be directly correlated with
the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide
emission reduction from carsharing was predicted at
62,070 tCO2eq for the year 2013; emission reductions were
predicted to increase further to 172,923 tCO2eq by 2020.
Thus, carsharing is an innovative strategy for traffic
demand management that can alleviate air pollution. The
results of this study indicate that further research is necessary
to examine the relationship between optimal carsharing
locations and carbon dioxide emission reduction
from using lower-emission carsharing vehicles, such as
electric vehicles.
Keywords
Carsharing; Carbon dioxide emission; Correlation analysis; Geographic information system
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