Shared cars to boost sharing economy?

Bright prospects await the sector

Chen Yanyan, dean of the College of Metropolitan Transportation, Beijing University of Technology [Photo/China Daily]

The car-sharing service model is based on car rentals. It is essentially car-lease service combined with technological support such as GPS, online booking, big data and electronic payment. But compared with traditional carlease service, it offers more tailored and effective contract with flexible choices of "hiring" and returning a car.

If car-sharing companies operate on a park-and-ride (P+R) model to supplement public transport, they will not only make commuting easier but also ease the pressure on public transport vehicles and reduce traffic jams. Under the P+R model, facilities such as parking lots are built close to bus or subway stations, generally on the outskirts of cities.

Therefore, the authorities should encourage car-sharing services, and they can do so by granting car-sharing companies some tax deductions and/or offering them more subsidies.