In contrast to conventional car sharing, P2P platforms have easier access to the market in that there are no registration fees, and all platforms follow the “pay as you go” principle. This gives users a great deal of flexibility and enables the platforms to compete against organised car sharing and car rental services. On P2P platforms, the offerings seem to outweigh the demand. “This is a good thing, because the decisive factor for a potential user is whether there is a P2P rental car nearby”, explains Thomas Sauter-Servaes, Head of the Transportation Systems degree programme. In addition to the new P2P model, his students have also examined conventional car sharing services as well as bike sharing. In order to make a situational comparison of the services, they created eight different user groups based on specific types of mobility behaviour.

There is one user group in particular which may come to favour the P2P model over conventional car rental services. In all seven cities, families in need of a car for one week while on holiday can find better deals through P2P than through conventional car sharing. In contrast, for weekly shopping in Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Paris and Vienna, it is worth using conventional car sharing services, while in Berlin and Zürich, it is better to stick to P2P providers. Tourists on city trips are usually best off using bike sharing. “In most of the cities we looked at, touring a city by bicycle is cheaper than by public transport”, says Wolfgang Thullen. Public transport, in turn, is more affordable than car sharing. “Still, car sharing services are more attractive to tourist couples whose main priorities are comfort and being able to explore the surroundings.” The “free-floating” principle, meaning being able to return rental vehicles at a different location, is an additional factor contributing to the appeal of conventional car sharing services.