The Benefit of Engage the “Crowd” Encouraging a Bottom-up Approach for Shared Mobility Rating

Abstract

Today transport systems have become multimodal and the evolution of shared mobility has made it possible to define forms of shared and green mobility such as e-bikes or PMVs (Personal Mobility Vehicles) while the supply of cars or van sharing reduces the use of private vehicles, often providing the possibility of renting electric vehicles with low environmental impact. When designing the shared mobility service it is useful to have a global vision that takes into account not only the business and future scenarios of the infrastructure, but also a data support linked to the needs of the users who will have to use it. Democratic and participatory planning makes it possible to directly involve the crowd and encourage a bottom-up approach to mobility. This provides the basis for different planning and design assessments. This work has focused on a statistical evaluation before and after and the results have been elaborated through a longitudinal approach, comparing the judgement before and after (2018–2020) the advent of car sharing in the city examined. The study highlights the weaknesses generated by the creation of the present car-sharing service implemented in a small town in Sicily (Italy). The results highlight the lack of a preventive analysis of transport demand and this criticality lays the basis for future research aimed at improving the supply of shared mobility by involving the majority of the population in the planning of the service and allowing the combined implementation of the car and bike sharing service.