Understanding the spatial distribution of free-floating carsharing in cities: Analysis of the new Madrid experience through a web-based platform

In recent years the sharing economy has become established in different modes in the urban transport system, and claims to be reducing the number of cars and contributing to lower traffic pollution. Free-floating carsharing (FFCS) is a new and more flexible type of carsharing that is driving the growth of carsharing markets around the world. While there is a very extensive literature on traditional carsharing, more research needs to be done on the new FFCS trip profile in order to estimate its spillover effects on the urban transportation system. As FFCS systems are based on ICTs, new web-based methodologies (instead of traditional surveys) are the best approach to analyse them. This paper contributes to the existing literature with a spatial evaluation of the FFCS trip profile, obtaining a temporal distribution of the main flows throughout the FFCS service area. The added value of this research is that it provides the first spatial analysis of a FFCS system in Spain using rental data collected from the operators' websites. The results clearly show the prevalence of the short-distance FFCS trip that is faster than available public transport and whose origin and destination are closely dependent on parking availability.