Car Sharing
Examples
Car-sharing in Japan
From an extensive report at http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/028678.html :
"How has car sharing spread in Japan so far? According to a survey by the Foundation for Promoting Personal Mobility and Ecological Transportation (known as the Eco-Mo Foundation), there were 19 car-sharing organizations in Japan as of August 2008, and a total of 522 cars were being shared by 3,875 registered members at 323 car stations. The numbers of cars and car stations more than doubled and the number of members increased by half compared with a survey in January 2007, only a year and a half earlier.
There are a number of reasons that car-sharing systems are growing in Japan. One is the recent soaring prices of gasoline and commodities.
Another is the growing general awareness of environmental issues and spread of eco-friendly lifestyles. Also, many young people are clearly less interested in owning cars than before. One could say that Japanese society is becoming more accepting of green lifestyles, sometimes described by a new business concept called "green servicizing," which refers to the use of the services or functions of products rather than the ownership of products themselves.
Green Servicizing Businesses: http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/027834.html
The national government has recently begun to encourage car sharing as a means of public transport. It is setting the stage for spreading the idea of car sharing nationwide by supporting local governments that have promoted car sharing, and by modifying regulations." (http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/028678.html)