Investigating the characteristics of carsharing usage patterns for public rental housing complexes: Case study in South Korea

The primary objective of this study was to investigate which attributes of HappyCar, a closed carsharing service implemented in rental housing complexes in South Korea, should be improved to become an alternative transportation mode for low-income households. The study also aimed to identify what kinds of characteristics of rental housing complexes influenced the vehicle usage rate. For the analysis, two types of data were collected: survey data from carsharing members and operation record log files provided by a service operator. For the methodology, the study employed an importance-performance analysis (IPA) technique to analyze which attributes of HappyCar require improvement. A beta regression model was estimated to identify factors affecting the vehicle usage rate. The IPA results showed that three attributes—the appropriateness of rental rates, thorough vehicle maintenance, and increase in the number of vehicles operated—should be improved with top priority to make the HappyCar service more convenient and comfortable. Five variables were found to be associated positively with the vehicle usage rate: rental housing type, number of households per complex, ratios of one-and two-person households, and ratio of five or more person households. The study enabled a better understanding of the characteristics of carsharing, including use by low-income residents in rental housing, and provided recommendations for HappyCar service providers and traffic policy decision makers.