Framework for Comparative Evaluation of Car-Sharing Alternatives for Urban and Suburban Regions: Case Study of Mumbai, India

Abstract

Indian cities are facing increases in their population, a crisis with space, and urbanization, which is leading to severe transport sector emissions, congestion, and unsustainable growth in car ownership. One solution is to adopt car-sharing, which is a good example of a circular economy (CE) and promotes sustainable mobility development. There are many car-sharing models; however, minimal knowledge is available regarding their suitability for Indian cities. This study will attempt to bridge the knowledge gap by developing a framework to compare car-sharing models. Further, an appropriate car-sharing model will be identified for Mumbai, India. This framework will be based on a scenario-based comparative analysis and will employ experts’ judgment that is based on a multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. The aggregated results from the experts’ input indicate that a carpool would be the preferred car-sharing model for urban and suburban scenarios. Accessibility and transport cost are the most critical indicators for urban and suburban regions, respectively. A detailed discussion on each criterion and indicator will be provided to develop suitable recommendations for future policymaking and asset utilization. A rigorous sensitivity analysis that used 25 different weight-based scenarios will be conducted to assess the robustness and internally validate the results. The sensitivity analysis suggested that focusing on individual indicators was not enough to influence the overall results; however, technical and environmental and health criteria were identified as the most sensitive in this study.