UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies

Transportation issues can create seemingly no-win conflicts for planners, whether it's dealing with traffic demand management, wrangling over parking requirements, addressing quality of life issues that accompany too much traffic, or, most recently, trying to reduce vehicle emissions to forestall climate change. But, planners, take note: A new "product-as-service" approach to vehicle use, called carsharing, is springing up in major metropolitan markets, smaller districts, and university campuses all across the country. Where the conditions are right to support carsharing, these programs can give planners another flexible tool to help address these issues in their communities.