Research on the operational characteristics of car sharing service stations: A case study of a car sharing program in Hangzhou*
Abstract Car sharing as a way to satisfy the increasing demand for motorized travel has been well received in Europe and North America, but is still in its infancy in China. In this study, 45 service stations were selected and classified into different types on the basis of factors such as location and surrounding land features. Data collected over a period of one year from the selected service stations were analyzed. The results of the statistical analyses of the following indexes are presented in this paper: use intensity of vehicles, vehicle usage frequency, distribution type of one-day use time length, and monthly cumulative use time length of vehicles. Examination of the statistical results obtained for the different types of stations show that the operational characteristics of the stations studied in this paper are relevant to the station attributes, but the connection is not obvious. Further, the results of analysis of several special stations reveal that operational characteristics are also affected by promotional policies and preferential activities.