CCE - Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures

The European Car Sharing Network now has participants in more that 50 organisations in over 300 cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. One of the largest groups, Berlin-based Stattauto, estimates that each of their vehicles replaces five private cars; altogether the fleet eliminates 510,000 kilometres of driving each year. ^[1]
Transportation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) projects that greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian transportation will rise 52 percent between 1991 and 2020. Per capita emissions of greenhouse gases from transportation in Canada and the U.S. are approximately three times the average in other countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Transportation has become environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. ^[2]
"private car use, while convenient, is extremely inefficient... The average car in the Netherlands, for example, is used for an hour and 12 minutes per day, so it is unused for nearly 23 hours. By this reckoning, the price tag for 100 percent convenience - a car that is always available on demand - is that it lie idle for 95% of its life..." Car-sharing address this inefficiency: the average car in the U.K. or Ireland is used 30 percent of the time - six times more than the average car in the Netherlands. ^[3]
Transportation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) projects that greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian transportation will rise 52 percent between 1991 and 2020. Per capita emissions of greenhouse gases from transportation in Canada and the U.S. are approximately three times the average in other countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Transportation has become environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. ^[4]
Indeed, motor vehicles produce more air pollution than any other single human activity. ^[5] Nearly 50 percent of global carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion come from gasoline- and diesel-powered engines. ^[6] In city centers, especially on highly congested streets, traffic can be responsible for as much as 90 to 95 percent of the ambient carbon monoxide levels, 80 to 90 percent of the nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, and a large portion of the particulates, posing a significant threat to human health and natural resources. In the cities of the developed world, car emissions pose the greatest threat to air quality. ^[7]
Preliminary indications are that for many parts of Canada car sharing may be among the most promising and cost-effective of available measures. ^[8]
Driving accounts for over 13% of the global carbon emissions and more than 25% of the world's oil consumption. ^[9]
About one third of Canada's carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions come from the transportation sector. Canada's 14 million automobiles and light trucks account for half of the carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector. Canadian emissions of CO2 from motor vehicles have decreased on a per vehicle basis in recent years as average fuel efficiencies have improved. Nevertheless, between 1990 and 1995 total CO2 emissions from automobiles rose slightly as a result of the increase in vehicle number and use. In 1995 automobiles continued to be among the most important sources of CO2 in Canada accounting for almost 11% total emissions. ^[10]
The car's utility to the individual stands in sharp contrast to the costs and burdens that society must shoulder to provide and automobile-centred transportation system. The auto culture is so deeply ingrained in western society that alternatives to it seem virtually unthinkable. But excessive reliance on cars can actually stifle rather than advance societies. The very success of mass motorization has created conditions that cannot be ameliorated simply by making cars more efficient and less polluting... Large stretches of land have been given over to the automobile and its infrastructure. Parking at home, the office, and the shopping mall requires on average 4,000 square feet of asphalt... Cars confer on their owners virtually limitless freedom as long as their numbers remain limited. But instead of facilitating individual mobility, the proliferation of automobiles has bred a crisis of its own - congestion... cities bear the imprint of the automobile system. In effect, they have become "segmented" communities... The automobile has created more distance than it overcomes. ^[11]
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the principle greenhouse gas emitted as a result of human activity, and is thought to be responsible for 55% of global warming between 1980 and 1990 (excluding the effects of water vapor). Carbon dioxide levels are rising at a rate of about 0.5 percent per year, primarily because increased burning of coal, oil, and natural gas is releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted is directly related to the amount of carbon in the fuel in question, and the amount of fuel burned. There is no add-on 'end-of-the-tailpipe' technology that can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from vehicle exhaust; the only solution is to reduce the amount of fuel used. The average U.S. car releases 300 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from a full, 15-gallon tank of gasoline, releasing more than 10,000 pounds (5 tons) of carbon dioxide every year. The automobile air pollution problem will not be solved by technological fixes at the tailpipe. Car use, and car dependency, must be reduced, and safe, efficient, and convenient transportation must be developed. ^[12]
In 1996, activities by Canadians caused the release of 508 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere, accounting for 75 per cent of the country's contribution to global warming. On a per capita basis, Canada is the largest consumer of energy in the world and the second largest producer of greenhouse gases. With a population of less than 30 million, we use as much energy as the entire continent of Africa, home to 700 million people, and contribute 2 per cent of overall global emissions. Automobile ownership in Canada has increased from 310 vehicles per 1,000 people in 1970 to 484 per 1,000 in 1994. ^[13]
At least one-fourth of the environmental damage done by cars occurs in production. ^[14]
The Dutch experience is that participants reduced their usage by 30%. ^[15]
Travel to and from the workplace make up approximately 20% of all daily person trips. The average length of each trip in the City (of Edmonton) is approximately 6.7 kilometres and takes approximately 20 minutes. ^[16]
Total car mileage of those who had a car available in their household [prior to Car Sharing Organisation membership] declined by more than 60%, which was primarily due to a shift in the modal split towards public transport for those trips exceeding 20 kilometres. Those who did not have a car available within their household prior to CSO membership increased their mileage to... below that of the car-household group within membership. ...overall mileage decreased by more than 50%. ^[17]
"...car-sharing makes visible the full cost of driving and helps new members reduce their annual driving by 50%.... In Germany alone 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions can be avoided once the full market potential of 2.45 million car-sharing users (study by the German minister of Transport) is reached over the next ten years." ^[18]
Switzerland's Department of Energy and Germany's Department of Transportation have investigated the effects of [car sharing] membership on mobility habits and energy usage. Instead of driving 10,000-15,000 km per year as previous car owners, [car share] users drove only 5,000 km per year, and used public transit for their remaining transportation needs. Annual mobility expenses were reduced by [approximately $2,500CDN]. In addition, taking advantage of car share has reduced the use of energy by almost 50% for motorized mobility. "The average owner of a driver's license in Switzerland and Germany completes 80% of his/her driving volume in their car. Almost the opposite is true for the [car share] user, who uses public transit for 75% of his/her transportation needs..." In this way, car sharing translates into fewer cars on the road and, hence, a reduction in both traffic congestion and air pollution. ^[19]
Shared cars are used more intensively to utilize the full potential of the resource, rather than remain parked for long periods causing congestion in our neighbourhoods. While this increased the usage the wear and tear on the vehicle will not reduce the reliability or eco-sensitivity of it as it will constantly maintaining a high degree of energy-efficient operability and environmentally sound practices. With one car on the road instead of ten, just think of the non-point sources of pollution that can be eliminated! Further, the air quality implication s of car sharing are huge. Using better maintained cars, while replacing the older vehicles driven for their fiscal sense rather than air sense can have a huge impact on our airshed. ^[20]
"Transportation. Environmental and Resource Impacts." Citizens Association to Save the Environment, Victoria, BC August 1991 ^[21]

Country	Population	Passenger cars
Romania	23 million	250,000
Poland	37.5 million	2 million
Nigeria	112 million	262,000
Canada	26 million	11 million

For a country with only 27 million people, Canada is a very big place. This gives the impression of wide-open spaces - of which we have many - but Canada is in fact a very urbanized nation. Some 80% of all Canadians live in urban areas. ^[22]

[1] "Reinventing Cities for People and the Planet", Molly O'Meara, Worldwatch paper #147, June 1999

[2] "Sustainable Transportation in Canada" National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 1996

[3] "Why Share", Gary Gardner, Worldwatch, July/August 1999

[4] "Sustainable Transportation in Canada" National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 1996

[5] "World Resources Institute in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, World Resources 1992-93 (Oxford University Press, New York, 1992), p. 203.

[6] S.B. Saville, "Automotive Options and Air Quality Management in Developing Countries," United Nations Environment Programme Industry and Environment, Vol. 16, No. 1-2 (January/June 1993), p. 32

[7] "Impacts of Urban Transportation Trends", World Resources Institute, WWW, 1996/97

[8] "Development of a plan to expand Car Sharing in Canada", page 1, proposal, The Centre for Sustainable Transportation, October 6th, 1998

[9] "How Much is Enough", page 82, Alan Durning, Worldwatch, 1992

[10] "A Matter of Degree: A Primer on Climate Change", page 36, Environment Canada, 1997

[11] "Rethinking the Role of the Automobile", Michael Renner, Worldwatch Paper #84, June 1984

[12] "The Environmental Impact of The Car", Greenpeace Report, 1992

[13] "Taking Our Breath Away-The Health Effects of Air Pollution and Climate Change", Drs. Last, Trouton, and Pengelly, David Suzuki Foundation, 1998

[14] Stattauto and the Green Consumer Guide, Pollution Probe

[15] "Separating the Ownership and use of Cars", page 16, Guenter Hoermandinger, Financial Times Automotive Environmental Analyst Issue 16, May 1996

[16] "Household Travel Survey-Project Report", Applications Management Consulting Ltd., City of Edmonton, May 1995.

[17] "Car-Sharing Organisations: The size of the market segment and revealed change in mobility behaviour", page 177-185 Karl Steininger, Transport Policy, vol 3, no. 4, 1996

[18] "Two Transportation Options", Justus Von Widekind, WWW, 1997

[19] "Car Sharing: More Mobility, Preservation of the Environment, and Savings in your Pocket", Wagner & Katzev, Urban Transportation Monitor, April 26^th, 1996.

[20] "Car Sharing in BC", page 7 Tracey Axelsson Co-operative Auto Network, 1997

[21] "Urban Vision Sampler", Transportation Association of Canada, February 1996

[22] "Urban Vision Sampler", Transportation Association of Canada, February 1996

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