EUR 5.8 million project seeks to prove feasibility of electric car-sharing in smaller urban areas

Greenhouse gases (GHG) from road transport have grown by more than 20% between 1990 and 2010 and now account for a fifth of all CO2 released in the EU, contributing significantly to climate change. Cars also impact air pollution, noise levels, and congestion in urban areas. Car-sharing is one solution to the problem, and the I-SharE LIFE project is investigating business cases for spreading its success to smaller urban areas.

In recent years, innovative car-sharing models have grown and their global market, estimated at EUR 1 billion in 2015, could expand four-fold by 2021. These services are currently focused in densely-populated cities. But the I-SharE LIFE project is looking into spreading their success to small and mid-sized urban areas. The EUR 5.8 million project, planned to run through end-June 2021, has been backed by an EU contribution of nearly EUR 3.4 million.

Osijek, Croatia is one of the towns selected for the project to prove the technological and economic feasibility of electric car-sharing models. What’s more, the 8 electric cars to be used in the demonstration in Osijek will be part of the public transportation system. Clients will be able to book a ride through an app and drive the electric cars for half an hour between four designated locations for only HRK 11 (EUR 1.48) – the price of a single 30-minute fare in Osijek.

Environmental and overall objectives

A total of 50 electric cars are to be used in the demonstration actions in four cities in Lombardy, Italy – Bergamo, Como, Bollate, and Busto Arsizio and a further 8 e-cars will be used in the demonstration sites in Osijek, all cities with 35,000 to 120,000 inhabitants.

The project seeks to reduce harmful emissions in line with EU directives. By reducing GHG emissions it will support the implementation of the Clean Energy Directive and the 2020 climate and energy package.

The project’s expected environmental results include cutting GHG emissions equivalent to 270 tonnes of CO2 a year.

The I-SharE LIFE project is also expected to demonstrate the economic feasibility of e-vehicles and car-sharing services in small and mid-sized cities and demonstrate how project results can be replicated across a further 34 sites in Italy and Croatia.

Beneficiaries

The project coordinator is Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNV), the holding company of the second-biggest railway operator in Italy. It is a private company, based in the region of Lombardy, offering services in railway engineering, service supply, IT, energy, and sustainable mobility.

Partners of the project include ASSTRA, the Italian association of local and regional public transport companies, Italian e-car sharing company E-VAI, I-Share technological platform Nordcom, and Poliedra, a consortium at Politecnico di Milano, one of the leading Italian universities in engineering, architecture, and design.

Partners from Croatia are mobility projects and consultancy company Dyvolve and the City of Osijek.