Study of Employee Carsharing on the University Campus

Abstract

This manuscript analyzes personal and carsharing consumption characteristics of alternative commuters of the same university in Los Angeles, California. The paper finds that: (1) one can achieve a reasonably high carsharing rate among university employees, particularly employees commuting by alternative modes other than driving alone, female employees, and employees whose income is lower than the median income of all the employees; (2) university employees’ participation rate in the carsharing program is lower than the students’ and thus, the latter contributes more to the existing argument that a university campus is a niche market for carsharing; (3) commuter benefits are not only correlated to the employee participation rate of a carsharing program, but also to the behavior of the participants: their frequency and quantity of carsharing consumption and when to carshare; (4) free hours do not necessarily increase the carsharing consumption of employee carsharers who are eligible for these hours; (5) one does not need a large number of shared vehicles to satisfy the needs of employee carsharers at the place of work.