Psychological factors impacts on carsharing use
DOI: 10.1007/s11116-024-10514-4
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Summary
This study investigates the impact of psychological factors, including personality traits, travel behavior, and attitudes, on the adoption and use of carsharing services. Motivated by gaps in existing literature—specifically the lack of research on digital service features, operator choice determinants, and the role of psychological constructs in mature carsharing markets—the authors aim to understand how these factors influence user decisions. The research addresses two primary questions: how psychological factors impact carsharing adoption and use, and what drives choices between different carsharing operators. The methodology employs a large-scale online survey conducted in Munich, Germany, between January and March 2022, yielding 1,044 valid responses and 9,469 stated preference observations. The data collection targeted both users and non-users to assess adoption barriers and usage patterns. To analyze the data, the researchers estimated four hybrid choice models (HCM). These models examined (i) knowledge about carsharing services, (ii) carsharing adoption, (iii) the shift from other transport modes to carsharing, and (iv) the choice between carsharing operators with varying payment schemes. The models integrated sociodemographic variables with latent psychological variables derived from stated behavioral statements. The results demonstrate that sociodemographic factors, such as income, education, household size, employment status, bike ownership, car access, driving license availability, and public transport subscriptions, significantly influence carsharing use both directly and indirectly. Crucially, four specific psychological factors were found to be significant across the models. These included the personality trait of being "adventurous," service-related attitudes regarding the perceived importance of the carsharing application, and travel behavior profiles characterized by frequent public transport use and frequent shared micromobility use. The findings highlight the significance of digital aspects, such as app ratings and ease of use, in operator choice and service adoption. The study concludes that psychological factors are critical drivers of carsharing behavior, often outweighing traditional sociodemographic predictors. The findings raise important questions regarding the inequitable use of carsharing, as digital dependency may exclude certain population groups. Furthermore, the results underscore the potential for integrating carsharing into Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platforms to enhance multimodality. By identifying key psychological and digital determinants, the research provides actionable insights for policymakers and operators aiming to increase sustainable mobility adoption and improve service viability through targeted interventions and platform integration.
Provenance
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-20 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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