University of Twente Student Theses

Explaining the variation in the demand for roundtrip B2C carsharing in neighbourhoods in the G44 cities in the Netherlands : an explanation based on neighbourhood characteristics and the current distribution of shared cars

Vossebeld, J.A. (2022) Explaining the variation in the demand for roundtrip B2C carsharing in neighbourhoods in the G44 cities in the Netherlands : an explanation based on neighbourhood characteristics and the current distribution of shared cars.

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Abstract:	The space in the urban areas of the Netherlands is limited, while simultaneously, there exists an increasing demand to live in this urban space. When carsharing would be implemented on a larger scale, fewer cars are needed and cars will be more in use. This could decrease the space needed for parking, which contributes to the increase in space in the urban areas to live in, without decreasing the inhabitants’ mobility options. Currently, carsharing providers are doing extensive market research to identify the neighbourhoods, districts or municipalities with the most potential demand for carsharing. However, literature shows that a large number of factors that affect the demand for carsharing are factors that can be expressed by the characteristics of an area. When the areas with the most potential demand for carsharing could be identified based on only the characteristics of an area, the time and money spent on market research would be reduced. This could help increase the use of shared cars and decrease the parking space in urban areas. To better understand the effect of the characteristics of an area on the demand for carsharing, the goal of this research is to reduce the need for extensive market research for the identification of an area with a high demand for carsharing, by developing a model that can predict the demand for carsharing in a neighbourhood based on its characteristics. To do this, the following research question is established: How are neighbourhood characteristics explaining the variation in the supply of roundtrip Business to Consumer (B2C) shared cars in neighbourhoods in the G44 cities in the Netherlands and can this explanation of variation be used to explain the variation in the demand for roundtrip B2C carsharing in these neighbourhoods?. B2C means that a fleet of cars is owned by a business and the cars are rented out to users and roundtrip means that users must return the car at the same place or zone as they started using it. The G44 is a collaboration between the 44 largest cities in the Netherlands. In order to answer the research question, a conceptual model was drafted in which all factors that have been described in previous literature as factors that affect the demand for and supply of shared cars are framed. This conceptual model consists of individual and neighbourhood factors and is used to answer four sub-questions. To answer the first sub-question, two regression models are developed that explain the variation in the supply of roundtrip B2C shared cars in neighbourhoods in the G44 cities in the Netherlands based on the characteristics of the neighbourhoods that are framed in the conceptual model as neighbourhood factors. The first regression model is based on the neighbourhoods in Almere, Arnhem, Enschede, Nijmegen, Zoetermeer and Zwolle because together, these cities are a good representation of the G44 cities. The second regression model is based on the neighbourhoods in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht because these cities have the highest number of B2C shared cars per 100,000 inhabitants and using their neighbourhoods, therefore, results in data with a higher variation. Both models consist of a binary logistic regression and a negative binomial regression. The binary logistic regression predicts whether there is a roundtrip B2C shared car present in a neighbourhood. Then the neighbourhoods that have a predicted presence of a shared car are the input for the negative binomial regression that is used to explain the variation in the number of shared cars per 100,000 inhabitants in a neighbourhood. This is also referred to as the shared car supply rate in a neighbourhood. Comparing the results of both regression models showed that the regression model based on The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht is best able to explain the variation in the supply of roundtrip B2C shared cars in the neighbourhoods of the 6 municipalities that together represent the G44 cities.
Item Type:	Essay (Master)
Faculty:	ET: Engineering Technology
Programme:	Civil Engineering and Management MSc (60026)
Link to this item:	https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/89531
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