Intraurban geographies of car sharing supply and demand in Greater Oslo, Norway

Abstract

This paper examines urban patterns of car sharing supply and demand at neighbourhood level. By using literature on spatial inequality and unequal mobility access, we provide new insights into the urban geographies of car sharing. We draw on register data of members and vehicles of station-based car sharing for Oslo, Norway, spatially coupled with population composition, urban form and public transport accessibility ratios. We find both the demand and supply of station-based car sharing to be unevenly distributed. Some of the most profound contributors to car sharing demand include middle income levels, middle and higher levels of education, higher shares of the population working in cultural sectors, higher shares of men, higher shares of multifamily housing, and higher strengths of the public transport regime compared to that of the private car. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for sustainable urban mobility, mobility justice and urban and transport planning.