Going back a month or so ago, I highlighted an article that linked the lack of carpooling in China to the fear of being fined for being a gypsy cab. It was an interesting article to say the least insofar as it provided an opportunity for me to consider a hurdle I had not seen before, however that article pales in comparison to the the 2005 study by Susan A. Shaheen, Ph.D. and Elliot Martin from UC Berkley’s California PATH program ASSESSING EARLY MARKET POTENTIAL FOR CARSHARING IN CHINA: A CASE STUDY OF BEIJING (download PDF here)
Where they found (in their survey of 840) :
only 40% of respondents were familiar with the concept at the time of the survey. “Familiarity with carsharing,” nevertheless, is not a key market indicator alone. “Interest in carsharing” is a more distinguishing feature among respondents. While those “interested in carsharing” are slightly wealthier and more educated than those “uninterested in carsharing,” the differential is small. In general, those “interested in carsharing” are skewed towards younger age categories (20 to 35), and this is more pronounced among individuals both “familiar” with and “interested in carsharing.” Nevertheless, carsharing appears to have appeal across the sociodemographic groups in this study.