Optimizing the sustainability of car sharing using mathematical modeling
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: School of Mathematical Sciences
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Christine Currie (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Currie C
(2026)
Price optimization for round trip car sharing
in European Journal of Operational Research
Hou N
(2025)
Qualitative insights into travel behavior change from using private cars to shared cars
in International Journal of Sustainable Transportation
| Description | The most significant technical achievement from the award is the design of fast, tractable algorithms for optimising the prices charged in car sharing schemes where customers return cars to the base at the end of the hire, so-called round trip hires. These are complemented by a simulation model that allows more complexities to be included and simulation optimisation algorithms that can be used to find optimal prices for round-trip hires. We have also built good links with businesses, charities and local government working in the area through two in-person workshops held during the grant. The insights from these meetings have fed into the technical work. |
| Exploitation Route | We are writing up results on the technical work for publication in peer-reviewed journals and are investigating opportunities for future funding to take this work forward. |
| Sectors | Transport |
| Description | We engaged the different stakeholders in car sharing within the UK at two workshops. This gave local councils the opportunity to listen to the challenges and barriers to entry faced by commercial companies operating car sharing. It also helped us to scope the real problems within car sharing. For example, much of the current research in this area concentrates on one-way hires in which cars are picked up and dropped off at different locations, whereas in the UK almost all car sharing companies operate a back-to-base model. The results of the workshops have been compiled into a policy paper that has now been published and made available. We are also in early meetings with a car share operator about implementing some of the methodological findings from the project. The project has led to new MSc and PhD studentships at King's College London, University of Southampton and Lancaster University on the topic of car sharing. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Transport |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Assessing the effectiveness of car sharing schemes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| URL | https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/assessing-the-effectiveness-of-car-sharing-schemes/ |
| Title | Notes from a Workshop on Future Directions in Modelling Car Share Schemes |
| Description | We are grateful for funding from the Engineering and Physical Research Council UK under grant number EP/Y008014/1 which enabled this workshop to take place. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The write up of the workshop is publicly available for researchers. |
| URL | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/499195/ |
| Title | Notes from a Workshop on what Areas are Good for Car Share Schemes |
| Description | This workshop comes at the end of an EPSRC-funded project which has developed mathematical tools to deliver a more financially sustainable car sharing service. The aim was to carry out exploratory work to investigate the use of mathematical modelling and initiate discussions with stakeholders to better understand the challenges of running car share schemes. The models and knowledge acquired during this project will form the basis of a larger scale project aiming to design better demand models that support the financial sustainability of mobility as a service and investigate the effectiveness of car share services in different contexts. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The research dataset is publicly available for researchers to use as a guide to how the car sharing industry works in the UK. |
| URL | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/499194/ |
| Description | Workshop on Future Directions in Modelling Car Share Schemes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The workshop was designed to inform the scope and specification of the project, exploring current best practice, capturing learning from previous and current car share services, identifying research priorities, and establishing key measures of success. Objectives: • To devise a problem specification for large-scale car share schemes. • To gain an informed understanding of the state of car share across the UK. • To learn from the experiences of existing services. • To scope a larger project and investigate interesting new research directions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Workshop on what Areas are Good for Car Share Schemes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The workshop has two purposes: (i) to develop a white paper describing the state of current research and practice in car sharing with a focus on how characteristics of a location impact on the effectiveness of car sharing; (ii) to inform potential funding bids and build partnerships. Through engagement with a breadth of stakeholders, the workshop will explore current practice, gain knowledge from previous and current car share services, and identify research priorities. Objectives: • To gain an understanding of where car sharing works well. • To better understand the infrastructure requirements of car sharing schemes. • To learn from the experiences of existing services. • To scope a larger project and investigate interesting new research directions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |