A phenomenon that is changing mobility around the world, sharing mobility allows people to get around using the many shared services available.
Sharing mobility, or shared mobility, is a rapidly expanding phenomenon that is changing the world of transport and the way we get around today and will in the future. By definition, sharing mobility refers to a way for people to travel using public or hired vehicles, rather than opting for private ones, whether that is a car, a bicycle or a scooter. Through the use of technology, sharing mobility allows users to share both vehicles and journeys, creating scalable, interactive and more efficient services. According to the latest "Rapporto nazionale sulla sharing mobility" drawn up by the Osservatorio nazionale sulla sharing mobility, the number of shared mobility services at national level grew by 14 units, reaching a total of 363 in 2018, counting over 100 more services than were present in 2015 and an average annual growth rate of 12 per cent.
To be defined as such, a shared mobility service must require that the vehicle used be shared by multiple people, either simultaneously — as happens on a train or metro or during a carpooling service — or in succession, as happens with bikes, scooters or a taxi. But what has driven the success of many of the solutions available is certainly the use of technology and the development of bespoke IT systems, which have made life considerably easier for users. Today, all it takes is an app and a few taps to have a vehicle at your disposal to reach your desired destination.
The added value of these solutions is that they offer transport options which, as well as being used when needed, adapt to the user's requirements — that is, the service is on-demand and tailored. Sharing mobility services must also know how to exploit residual capacity, meaning the ability to make use of a vehicle when it is effectively stationary or parked. In this way, what is known in the trade as "unused capacity" is put to work.
Literally "shared bikes", this is a service that allows you to hire a bicycle you do not own and use it for a limited period of time. Over the years, two main services have been developed: the so-called free floating model, which offers the possibility of hiring a bicycle and leaving it wherever you choose, without returning it to a docking station. This makes it easier to locate available bikes and, above all, allows you to reach your destination without having to return the bike to a station. The classic (or station-based) service, on the other hand, often involves a subscription and the possibility of hiring the bike for longer periods. The bicycles are also often of better quality and better suited to covering longer distances.
Perhaps one of the best-known shared mobility services, car sharing involves hiring a car, alone or with others, paying for the time it is used or according to hourly rates set out in the hire agreement. As with bikes, cars are also divided into free floating, where the car can be hired and parked anywhere within the area where the service operates, and station-based. This was the first car sharing service to emerge and is still active today, particularly in Europe and North America. Under this model, cars can be booked in advance and the added value is the ability to guarantee the vehicle's availability when it is needed. More recently, peer-to-peer car sharing services have emerged — that is, between private individuals: in this case, a private individual makes their car available when it is not in use. There are also carpooling services, which involve the shared use of private vehicles between two or more people who need to travel the same route, or part of it, on a not-for-profit basis.
This hire system is similar to that for bikes. In this case, the company making the scooter available often also provides a helmet (stored in the top box) and disposable hygiene liners to wear underneath. The vehicles are also speed-limited (90 km/h) and fitted with a satellite system that activates in the event of an accident. In recent years, electric scooter sharing services have proved particularly popular, allowing people to get around the city without emitting pollutants. In this case, it is important to remain within the area covered by the service, so as not to incur a kind of "penalty" that involves recharging the vehicle.
This is a relatively recent on-demand hire system that has changed the way taxi rides are called, booked and paid for. Freenow (the name of the service, formerly mytaxi), in the cities and areas where it operates, allows you to book a ride using a simple app. In this case, the application tells you which free taxi is closest to you, indicates the waiting time and books the call on your behalf. This bypasses the classic phone call to the switchboard, often avoiding long waits. At the end of the journey, it is possible to pay for the trip through the app itself, using online payment methods such as PayPal or credit card. The arrival of the Freenow service in Italy has certainly given a boost to the entire sector, making it easier for users to book and more simply connecting the various services active in our cities. The situation is different for Uber, which in Europe has had to contend with taxi driver associations, who have succeeded in having the Uberpop service regulated differently — a service that, by contrast, operates in many other cities around the world. In the old continent and in the majority of European countries, Uber functions more as a high-end chauffeur service than as a true e-hailing service.
