Car-pooling in the concept of passenger travel in cities

Electric urban transport is characterized by almost complete environmental safety. There are many alternatives to this way of moving around. In cities, these can be walking or cycling, which are worth promoting. However, as numerous observations and studies show, in Polish cities, individual transport is the preferred way of traveling (Figure 1), causing many problems related to congestion, parking, and environmental impact. Every trip consists of a chain of elementary movements on foot or using means of transport, and trips in cities consist of one or more movements – in the latter case forming a chain of movements. The share of individual modes of movement within urban trips depends on many factors, such as demographic aspects of the urban structure, mobility of residents, and the impact of modes of movement on the city environment. Driving a car is associated with a specific lifestyle, comfort, mobility, and prestige. Research conducted by the author indicates that in the group of young people – aged 20-30 – the number of those willing to give up traveling by private car is small and does not exceed 10%. The propensity to give up private transport is lower the lower the respondent’s economic status. A surprise for the author is the greater willingness of wealthy people to give up traveling by private car. The dispersed development of many modern cities, combined with a dense and capacious street network and accompanying parking lots and parking spaces, encourages driving regardless of economic calculation. Furthermore, it is worth taking into account the forecasts for the increase in the number of private cars in Poland and the common lifestyle that includes unlimited use of individual vehicles. Hence the question arises: how to reconcile the justified desire of cities to use more efficient means of passenger transport with the attachment to traveling by private car?<\/p>

Car-pooling – what is it
<\/strong>Preferring a private car to meet transport needs is a fact that must be accepted. Changing the model of transport behavior is a multifaceted and usually long-term process. Therefore, one should look for ways to maximize the positive effects of car travel for their users and cities. The first and perhaps the simplest method of increasing the efficiency of driving private cars in the city (and at the same time reconciling the advantages and disadvantages of this way of moving) is to increase the number of people traveling in one car. The way to increase the occupancy rate of private cars is the dynamically developing concept of car-pooling<\/em> (written in the literature both as one word carpooling<\/em> and separately – car pooling<\/em>). This term, as well as the concept of car-pooling<\/em>, are not widely known in Poland. To the question formulated as follows: “Have you heard of initiatives aimed at better use of private non-profit means of transport?” surveyed residents of Silesian cities practically answered “no” – out of 3,050 respondents, only 2 people stated that they knew the principles of the system. Władysław Kopaliński’s Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases provides the following short definition: car pool<\/em> [pronounced kaapu:l] English, “car pool”, an arrangement of private car owners, under which each driver in turn takes the others as passengers in their own car (to work and home). Specifying the above definition, car-pooling<\/em> consists of sharing seats in private or company cars for other travelers. Such a system can be based on using one car or rotating several cars belonging to several owners. To speak of car-pooling<\/em> as a system, several elements must be met. These include: high frequency of sharing or even regularity, private ownership of cars, and the exclusion of driving children and youth under 18 in these vehicles. Transport that does not meet these requirements, but consists of sharing cars, also fulfills the goals defined in these considerations, but does not enter the organized system.<\/p>