Bilpoolers Framtidsutsikter : En studie om bilpoolers framtidsutsikter i Sverige med fokus på hållbarhet, marknadsföringsmetoder och befolkningens inställning

For many families and individuals, the car is an obvious part of the daily life. This way of life has created some serious consequences related to the economy and environment both on a local and a global scale. Air pollution, traffic congestion and noise pollution are some of the more common results. This means that we have to change our way of thinking when it comes to car usage. Ideas like public transport, car tolls and developed bike lanes are all part of the solution, but the concept we decided to bring to the light is car sharing. This concept is relatively unknown to the public, even though it has been around since the seventies. This essay aims to explore why the concept is unknown and what can make the public change its view on car usage and car ownership. The theory is made up of five parts, where the first part explores the growth of the car industry in Sweden and the negative impacts of the vehicle based society. The second part explores the concept of sharing economy. How car sharing is a part of that and what new difficulties and obstacles the sharing economy brings. The third part explores the ecological and economical implications of car sharing and how it can affect the individual. The fourth part explores studies done on the concept of car sharing, comparing international results with ones made by Swedish agencies. The fifth part is about marketing methods of car sharing agencies and what the future holds in store for these companies. The empirical material consists of two parts, the first one is a poll for car users, where we wish to explore their knowledge and view of car sharing. The second part consists of an interview with Fredrik Hoppstadius, employed at Karlstad University with a PhD in Cultural Geography. This study concludes that the public’s increasing ecological and economical concerns might benefit the concept of car sharing and the sharing economy as a whole. The sharing economy gives incentive for the population to try new alternatives to the more common idea of ownership. However, most of these solutions are still in the early stages and the safety concerns are still a big holdback for more users. The marketing perspective of car sharing businesses has to evolve in order for people to gain awareness and more information on the concept of car sharing